Suspect in airport cyberattack held in UK
British police have arrested a suspect in the cyberattack that caused major disruptions at some of Europe’s busiest airports over the weekend.
A man in his forties was detained in West Sussex on suspicion of computer misuse offenses, and later released on conditional bail, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. The suspect’s identity has not been revealed.
”Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing,” AP quoted Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s national cybercrime unit, as saying. The official went on to describe cybercrime is a “persistent global threat.”
Reports suggested ransomware may have been involved in the attack on airport check-in systems, although no group has claimed responsibility. “It looks almost more like vandalism than extortion, based on the information we have,” James Davenport, a professor of information technology at the University of Bath, told AP.
Starting late Friday and continuing through the weekend, airports in Berlin, Brussels, and London experienced major disruptions to their electronic systems, causing long delays at check-in. The breach targeted Collins Aerospace software, which manages passenger processing systems used for check-in, boarding passes, and baggage handling. Airline staff were forced to fall back on manual methods, including handwriting boarding passes and using backup laptops to keep passengers moving.
