Hacker group “Anonymous Sudan” claims major cyber attack on Scandinavian airline SAS

Scandinavian airline SAS has suffered a significant cyber attack that knocked its website offline and exposed the sensitive personal information of certain customers.

In a recent statement, the airline confirmed that it is dealing with a cyber attack alongside several other companies, “that led to our website and app being down for a few hours”. The airline also said that some passengers who were active on the mobile app during the ongoing attack could see other passengers’ information and itineraries.

“We are currently investigating the incident, but we can confirm that the affected passengers’ contact details, previous and upcoming flights, as well the last four digits of the credit card number were visible,” SAS said.

“We can reassure passengers who are worried that their credit card information has spread, that only the last four digits of the credit card number have been visible,” the airline said, adding that no passport details or EuroBonus points should be affected by the cyber attack.

SAS has notified relevant law enforcement authorities and is working with the national CAA (Civil Aviation Agency), police, and security police to understand the scope and nature of the security incident.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and continue the work to analyse and evaluate the attack and related consequences, as well as take preventive measures,” SAS added.

Alongside SAS, the national public television broadcaster SVT and several other other Swedish companies, universities, and telecom operators suffered a cyber attack this week.

A group going by the name “Anonymous Sudan” has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack and said that the burning of the Quran during a January protest in Stockholm instigated them to target Swedish organisations. However, IT security expert Marcus Murray believes that the cyber attacks were carried out by pro-Russian threat actors under a false flag.

In its Telegram channel, the hacker group said, “This message is addressed to the idiot Swedish experts. Russia has nothing to do with these attacks. These attacks are only in response to the burning of the Qur’an, and what Sweden is always doing by burning the Qur’an.

“And we will continue the attacks in a large and violent manner, if an official apology is not issued by the Swedish government regarding the burning of the Qur’an,” the group added.

In January, Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal information of its Flying Blue customers.

According to a notification sent to its affected customers, the airline suspected that sensitive personal information like names, Flying Blue numbers and levels, miles balances, phone numbers, email addresses, and latest transaction details were compromised in the data breach. The airline clarified that no credit card and payment information was compromised in the security incident.