19 July 2023 , 15:02
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UK airports are being targeted by groups of Russian hackers, it has been claimed.
London City Airport's website went down shortly before 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, coinciding with an apparent claim of a hack by pro-Russia UserSec.
A short while later Anonymous Russia claimed to have launched a similar attack on Birmingham Airport's website, although it remained online at the time of writing.
A spokesperson for the airport said: “Some people have reported our website has been loading slowly this afternoon. We are investigating.”
"Anonymous Russia joins the attack on UK airport! Before your eyes, the sleeping international British airport Birmingham! Glory to Russia," a message from one of the hacking groups posted online read.
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It is unclear if the hacking claims are genuine and whether they will have any material impact on the functioning of the airports.
Claims that Birmingham Airport's website has been targeted have not been verified (PA)Arrival and departure boards suggest that services into and out of both are running smoothly.
It is also not clear what the exact intention of the claimed hacks are and why UK airports specifically would be targeted.
In May London City Airport's website was hit with an error message as people were unable to access the site temporarily.
A group of hackers known as NoName then claimed credit for the issue with the website, which was resolved a short while later.
NoName group is a pro-Russian group which first declared itself in March 2022. They have blocked several other websites since then, including the French Senate in the spring.
At the time a spokesperson for London City Airport said: "London City Airport’s website is up and running, but access was briefly restricted this morning. Our I.T. team is investigating the issue."
Back in April this year the UK government warned that Russian hackers were trying to “cause maximum damage to the UK’s critical national infrastructure” such as power stations.
Cyber attackers were targeting vital energy plants in a bid to black out Britain, according to Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden.
He told cyber security experts in Belfast: “These adversaries are ideologically motivated rather than financially motivated.
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“Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly but we believe it is necessary if we want these companies to understand the current risk they face and take action to defend themselves and the country.”
In June Thousands of UK-based workers were hit by a massive data breach in a Russia-linked cyber attack.
British Airways, Boots and the BBC are among the organisations affected after payroll platform Zellis - used by hundreds of UK companies - was targeted by a major hack.
Zellis told the Mirror that eight companies had been affected, but did not specify which. The payroll provider says it works with a third of the FTSE 100, serving five million employees every month.
The hack has suspected links to a Russian-speaking cybercrime gang called Clop, reported The Telegraph, and relates to a flaw in a piece of software called MOVEit Transfer - used by thousands of companies globally to transfer files.
Boots confirmed that the breach involved some of its 50,000 staff members' personal details, although it is understood that bank details were not taken.