Seattle-Tacoma International Airport yet to recover from August cyber attack

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport said it is working round-the-clock to recover from a major cyber security incident that occurred in August and caused Internet and web systems outage.

 

On August 24, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport suffered a significant cyber security incident that caused widespread delays and a temporary halt to certain systems. In an initial announcement, the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, described the incident as an “internet and web systems outage.” However, airport authorities later confirmed that the outage was a result of a cyber attack that caused delays in flight operations.

 

“Early on Saturday, August 24, the Port was made aware of unauthorised activity on our systems. Our teams isolated critical systems and are working with third-party and federal partners to safely restore and test our systems. The investigation is ongoing, and the Port will provide appropriate updates as they become available,” reads the announcement.

 

In a recent update, Port authorities said that the recovery work is still ongoing and “restoration of common use systems continues to progress.”

 

“Virtually all airlines are back to full service for ticketing and baggage management. Few flight delays or disruptions are occurring beyond a typical busy holiday volume period. That continues to be the main priority to get passengers to and from their travels safely. TSA wait times are minimal while dining and retail locations are operating normally,” they said.

 

Recovery work to get the display boards for flight and bag information are still being worked on in partnership with the airlines. However, port staff and volunteers are working round the clock to get all the systems back online and provide a seamless experience for passengers.

 

Port of Seattle officials are yet to share details on who is behind the cyber attack or how the threat actors infiltrated the airport’s internal network.

 

“That is the question that is on everybody’s mind, and all of our staff are working to figure out what exactly occurred,” airport spokesperson Perry Cooper said during a press conference.