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Terrorism

Major U.S. airports attacked by pro-Russia hacking group 

The Russian hacking group known as Killnet launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on several airports

October 10, 2022 6:58pm

Updated: October 11, 2022 1:31pm

The websites of more than a dozen U.S. airports went offline on Monday after a pro-Russia group claimed to have hacked them.  

The Russian hacking group known as Killnet launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on several airports, making their websites unavailable. Fourteen websites were affected, including the website for some of the nation’s largest airports, such as the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. 

While the hack affected the websites, airport operations were not impacted and flights continued as normal. The websites were also restored to normal. 

“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 Monday at a security conference in Sea Island, Georgia.

The FBI and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were notified of the incident and will be investigating the hack. 

Killnet previously claimed responsibility for attacks against the government website in Colorado, Kentucky, and Mississippi last week, as well as the Congress’ website in July. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the group has stepped up hacking efforts against NATO countries.

“Vladimir Putin seeks to compel the U.S. to stop providing military support to Ukraine by attempting to place pressure on Americans,” Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told FOX Business. “Inflicting gradual pain by disrupting the normal functioning of the society is part of the doctrine. The goal is to reach the point where people get tired of inconveniences and demand that the U.S. government abandon Ukraine.”