Russian-speaking hackers on Monday disrupted the websites of multiple U.S. airports through denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, CNN reports.
Why it matters: No actual flight disruptions from the attacks were reported, but the downed websites were likely an inconvenience for people seeking flight information or booking services.
- DDoS attacks work by overwhelming a targeted server, service or network with a flood of internet traffic and either force websites offline or make them very slow to respond to legitimate traffic.
- The affected airports included Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport, according to CNN and ABC.
What they're saying: Killnet, a pro-Russia hacker group, posted a list of major U.S. airport websites on its Telegram account on Monday morning, telling its 91,000 subscribers that "The list below is for you!"
- "We invite everyone to commit DDOS on the civilian network infrastructure of the United States of America!" the group added, listing airports, hospitals and health care systems, weather monitoring centers and metro systems as targets.
- The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and multiple airports did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
The big picture: Killnet took responsibility for knocking multiple state government websites offline around the U.S. last week, CNN reports.
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