Cyber attacks and incidents that cause airports to be stranded are not a new incident and phenomenon. Recently, a cyber attack carried out on Collins Aerospace, a company that develops aviation technology, was hacked and caused a number of airports in Europe to be stranded.
The attack on several of the company's cloud check-in assistance systems called cMUSE has caused check-in kiosks at several airports in Europe such as London Heathrow, Berlin Brandenburg, Brussels Zaventem and many other airports to be disrupted, and forced many flights to be canceled or delayed for several hours.
London Heathrow Airport said that they process all customer tickets manually, while Berlin-Brandenburg Airport closed the check-in kiosks and processed customer tickets at the counter with its own closed system.
According to several reports, in addition to the check-in system, the cMUSE software is also used for a biometric scanning system and a passenger baggage tag printing system. The system can be implemented in the cloud or on-premises, but many airports prefer the cloud because it makes integration between airline services easier.
Collins Aerospace did not confirm what type of cyberattack was carried out, but the system has reportedly been recovered, so the likelihood that it was a ransomware attack is low.
The system has been recovering regularly since Sunday, and most flights are reported to have departed on time.