The New Nightmare of Air Travel: Cyberattack Paralyzes Major European Airports

I was shocked watching the morning news yesterday.
Breaking news flashed that check-in systems at London Heathrow Airport were down.
At first, I thought it was just a simple system glitch,
but it turned out to be a massive cyberattack that simultaneously hit major airports across Europe.

September 20: The Day European Skies Stood Still

Yesterday (September 20), major European airports including London Heathrow in the UK, Brussels Airport in Belgium, and Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Germany experienced simultaneous disruptions.
Collins Aerospace confirmed that cyber-related disruptions affected some of their systems at certain airports, though they haven’t disclosed what type of cyberattack occurred.

What I initially thought was a simple system error turned out to be a major incident.
It was actually a systematically planned cyberattack. (Is this even possible??)

According to news reports, Brussels Airport made an announcement.
On the night of the 19th, a service provider offering check-in and boarding systems to Brussels Airport and several other European airports was hit by a cyberattack,
forcing them to resort to manual check-in and boarding procedures only.

It was complete chaos.

Collins Aerospace: At the Center of This Incident

Collins Aerospace? I heard about them for the first time through this incident.
But surprisingly, they’re the company that controls airport check-in systems worldwide.
The attacked system was called MUSE (Multi-User System Environment), and when it went down, problems cascaded everywhere.

Come to think of it, this is really scary.
To think that one company handles the core systems of so many airports…
This seems like a textbook example of what we call a Single Point of Failure.
(The system security team must be having the worst time right now)

Airport Scenes: Complete Mayhem

London Heathrow Airport issued a notice stating “Flight delays are expected due to technical issues” and advised travelers to be cautious.
But the actual situation was much more serious.

Brussels Airport was in chaos.
By afternoon, more than ten flights had already been canceled, and other flights were delayed one after another.
What’s more shocking is that staff had to manually attach baggage tags and process check-ins by hand.
(Back to analog vibes ㅡ.ㅡ;;)

The Suspects: Who’s Behind This?

Security experts are suggesting that Russia(?) might be behind this attack.
While there’s no concrete evidence yet,
(Who benefits from this attack!?!?)
considering the recent geopolitical tensions, the consensus is that this wasn’t just the work of simple hacking groups.

Actually, such attacks have happened before.
Just look at the CrowdStrike incident.
But this time was different.
This attack simultaneously targeted critical infrastructure across multiple countries.

Similar Cases

Stuxnet - Iran Nuclear Facility Attack (2010)

The most famous cyber warfare case where the Stuxnet worm, reportedly jointly developed by the US and Israel, attacked Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
This malware targeted Siemens industrial control systems (SCADA) and manipulated the rotation speed of centrifuges,
ultimately physically destroying about 1,000 centrifuges and delaying Iran’s nuclear development program for several years.
This was recorded as the first case where a cyberattack caused physical destruction, making the concept of ‘cyber warfare’ a reality.

Ukraine Power Grid Attacks (2015, 2016)

Russian hacker group ‘Sandworm’ targeted Ukraine’s power infrastructure.
In December 2015, 230,000 citizens experienced a 6-hour blackout,
and in 2016, power was cut for 1 hour in the northern Kiev region.
The attackers hacked power company employees’ computers and remotely manipulated substation circuit breakers to cut power supply.
This was the first case where a cyberattack paralyzed an entire nation’s power infrastructure, showing how vulnerable modern society’s critical infrastructure is.

Colonial Pipeline Attack (2021)

The Colonial Pipeline, responsible for oil supply to the US East Coast, was hit by a ‘DarkSide’ ransomware attack.
This attack completely shut down the pipeline handling 45% of America’s total oil supply for 6 days.
This resulted in gas station shortages and fuel price spikes along the East Coast, leading to flight cancellations and logistics chaos.
The company reportedly paid hackers about $4.4 million ransom,
making this a prime example of how cyberattacks can impact an entire nation’s economy.

Vulnerabilities in Modern Aviation

What I realized from this incident is that aviation systems are much more vulnerable than we think.
While digitalization has made things more convenient, it has also increased our exposure to cyberattacks.
(Now is truly the time to invest in information security…)

Airport check-in systems were particularly problematic due to these characteristics:

• A few companies globally monopolize the industry
• Real-time connectivity allows rapid spread
• Backup systems are often inadequately prepared

Travelers’ Suffering and Compensation

The most unfortunate part is that innocent travelers suffered the consequences. (So sorry ㅠㅠ)
Those who had planned European trips, business travelers who needed to travel…
Many people must have experienced disruptions to their schedules.

Especially passengers planning to use connecting flights must have suffered greater damage.
Once a schedule gets messed up, it’s not easy to fix.
I also remember having a trip completely ruined by flight delays in the past.. ㅠㅠ

Future Preparedness

To prevent such incidents from happening again, several improvements seem necessary.

• System Decentralization: Don’t rely too heavily on one company; distribute across multiple systems
• Backup System Enhancement: Maintain minimal services even during cyberattacks
• International Cooperation: Such attacks aren’t just one country’s problem

In Conclusion…

This incident made me realize how vulnerable the foundations of modern society are.
When one system stops, other systems are affected in a chain reaction.

Personally, I think I need to plan more carefully when traveling in the future.
It would be good to have flexible schedules that account for flight delays or cancellations, and to research alternative transportation options in advance.

To be honest, I’m worried that such incidents will happen more frequently.
It seems like I’m seeing news about hacking incidents more often these days. (Is my personal information public property??)
As technology advances, new threats emerge.
But we can’t give up traveling because of that, right?

Honestly, I think I need to start with emergency plans the next time I go to Europe.
I’m just anxious about it.

If this post was useful, please subscribe and like… (wait.. this isn’t YouTube!)