Russian-speaking hackers shut down multiple US airport websites

More than a dozen public-facing airport websites, including those for some of the nation’s largest airports, appeared inaccessible on October 10 morning, and Russian-speaking hackers claimed responsibility.

No immediate signs of impact to actual air travel were reported, suggesting the issue may be an inconvenience for people seeking travel information, CNN reports.

“Obviously, we’re tracking that, and there’s no concern about operations being disrupted,” Kiersten Todt, Chief of Staff of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said on October 10 at a security conference in Sea Island, Georgia.

The 14 websites include the one for Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. An employee there told CNN there were no operational impacts.

The Los Angeles International Airport website was offline earlier but appeared to be restored shortly before 9 am Eastern. A spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

The hacking group known as Killnet listed multiple US airports as targets. It stepped up activity to target organizations in NATO countries after Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine. The loosely organized “hacktivists” are politically motivated to support the Kremlin but ties to Moscow are unknown.