European Airport Disruptions Caused by Ransomware Attack

European airports experienced disruptions after a ransomware attack on Collins Aerospace, with the incident affecting check-in and boarding systems across Europe and forcing some operations to revert to manual processes, causing delays and flight cancellations. According to ENISA, the agency has identified the ransomware type and said law enforcement is investigating, but no further details have been released.

The attack impacted UK, Germany, Belgium, and Ireland, with Heathrow, Brussels Airport, and Berlin Brandenburg named among the airports facing disruption; Brussels Airport reportedly asked airlines to cancel nearly 140 flights on Monday. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre issued a statement over the weekend that it is coordinating with the Department of Transport to investigate the incident.

An internal Heathrow memo obtained by the BBC suggested that over a thousand computers may have been corrupted and that hackers had remained inside the network even after systems were rebuilt and relaunched. Cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumont has indicated ARINC communications and SelfServ vMUSE systems were affected, and that several ARINC-related systems remain exposed to the internet.