February 28, 2023
In 2022, the air transport industry has increasingly become a target for cyber attackers. From airlines to ground handling services to military organizations, numerous industry players around the world have been victims of cyberattacks. However, the headlines were dominated by DDoS attacks on the websites of numerous airports, committed by pro-Russian groups. We provide an overview of the incidents.

Cyber incident overview

Cyber attacks on the aviation industry in 2022
License Creative Commons BY 4.0. Credits: KonBriefing Research
 
Diagram in high resolution (License: Creative Commons BY 4.0):

Which companies were affected by a cyber attack?

#DateCountryCityStateCompanyTypeStichworte
1January 24, 2022IndiaMumbaiAirlineTransportation,Airline,Aviation,Go First
2January 27, 2022GermanyFrankfurt/MainHEService companyHesse, Aviation,Transportation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,WISAG
3February 2022FranceNouméaAirlineNew Caledonia, Transportation,Airline,Aviation,Air Calédonie
4February 3, 2022SwitzerlandOpfikon ZHZHAirport ground servicesRansomwareCanton of Zurich, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Swissport
5February 14, 2022MauritiusPort LouisAirlineTransportation,Airline,Aviation,Air Mauritius
6February 14, 2022PolandWarsawAir ambulanceHealthcare,Transportation,Emergency service, Rescue,Airline,Aviation,Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe
7February 2022CanadaHalifax NSNSAerospaceNova Scotia, Aerospace, Aviation, Defence, Defense,Aviation,IMP Group
8March 2022FranceToulouseUniversityOccitanie, Département Haute-Garonne, College, University, Research,Aerospace, Aviation, Defence, Defense,Aviation,École nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC)
9March 26, 2022RussiaMoscowCivil aviation authorityTransportation,Administration, Authority, Government, Public sector,Aviation,Федеральное агентство воздушного транспорта / Росавиация (Rosaviatsia)
10March 29, 2022USAWindsor Locks CTCTAirportDDoS attackConnecticut, Hartford County, Transportation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,Bradley International Airport
11April 17, 2022GermanyHamburgHHAviation handlingTransportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,AHS Aviation Handling Services GmbH
12April 18, 2022CanadaToronto ONONAirlineOntario, Transportation,Airline,Aviation,Sunwing Airlines
13April 20, 2022IsraelTel Aviv / תֵּל־אָבִיב–יָפוֹAirport authorityAerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,רשות שדות התעופה בישראל (Israel Airports Authority)
14May 2022CanadaMontreal QCQCAir combat trainingRansomwareQuébec, Armed Forces, Military,Aviation,Aerospace, Aviation, Defence, Defense,Top Aces Inc.
15May 13, 2022RussiaAirlinesTransportation,Airline,Aviation
16May 20, 2022ItalyBergamoAirportLombardy, Transportation,Italia,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,SACBO S.p.A. / Milan Bergamo Airport
17May 20, 2022ItalyGenoaAirportLiguria, Transportation,Italia,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,Aeroporto di Genova-Sestri
18May 20, 2022ItalyRiminiAirportEmilia-Romagna, Provincia di Rimini, Transportation,Italia,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,Aeroporto di Rimini-Miramare
19May 20, 2022ItalyMilanoAirportsTransportation,Italia,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,SEA Group
20May 24, 2022IndiaGurgaon / Gurugram / गुड़गांवAirlineHaryana, Transportation,Airline,Aviation,SpiceJet
21May 27, 2022BrazilRio de JaneiroAirportTransportation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation,Aeroporto Santos Dumont
22May 31, 2022CanadaMontreal QCQCAvionicsQuébec, Aviation,CMC Electronic
23July 5, 2022USAFort Worth TXTXAirlineTexas, Tarrant County and others, Transportation,Airline,Aviation,American Airlines
242022PakistanIslamabadMilitaryArmed Forces, Military,Aviation,Administration, Authority, Government, Public sector,Pakistan Air Force (PAF) / پاک فِضائیہ / Pāk Fìzāʾiyah
25August 25, 2022PortugalLisbonAirlineTransportation,Airline,Aviation,TAP Air Portugal
26October 10, 2022USAAirportsHawaii, Transportation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Aviation
27October 10, 2022USADes Moines IAIAAirportIowa, Polk County, Dallas County, Warren County, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Des Moines International Airport
28October 10, 2022USALos Angeles CACAAirportCalifornia, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Los Angeles International Airport
29October 10, 2022USADenver COCOAirportColorado, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Denver International Airport
30October 10, 2022USAColorado Springs COCOAirportColorado, El Paso County, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Colorado Springs Airport
31October 10, 2022USAOrlando FLFLAirportFlorida, Orange County, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Orlando International Airport
32October 10, 2022USAAtlanta GAGAAirportGeorgia, Fulton County, DeKalb County, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
33October 10, 2022USASt. Louis MOMOAirportMissouri, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,St. Louis Lambert International Airport
34October 10, 2022USANew York City NYNYAirportNew York, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,LaGuardia Airport
35October 10, 2022USAPhoenix AZAZAirportArizona, Maricopa County, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
36October 10, 2022USAChicago ILILAirportsIllinois, Transportation,Aviation,Aerodrome, Airport, Airfield,Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport
37November 2, 2022USAEnglewood COCOAviation chartsColorado, Arapahoe County, Transportation,Aerospace, Aviation, Defence, Defense,Aviation,Boeing Digital Solutions, Inc. / Jeppesen
38November 12, 2022MalaysiaSepangAirlineSelangor / سلاڠور, Transportation,Airline,Aviation,AirAsia

Hacker attacks statistics

By month

Cyber attacks on the aviation industry in 2022 by month
License Creative Commons BY 4.0. Credits: KonBriefing Research
 
Diagram in high resolution (License: Creative Commons BY 4.0):

By country

Cyber attacks on the aviation industry in 2022 by country
License Creative Commons BY 4.0. Credits: KonBriefing Research
 
Diagram in high resolution (License: Creative Commons BY 4.0):

Notes

  • The statistics are based on the known incidents listed here.
  • Since only some of the cases become known, the evaluations are not representative.
  • Industries where incidents are immediately visible due to public access (e.g. healthcare) are more represented than others.
  • An incident may be assigned to multiple countries or industries. Also, a country cannot always be assigned. So the totals shown on the charts may be different.
  • The graphics may be reused according to the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 / CC BY 4.0 (attribution: KonBriefing Research).

Details, examples and sources

Flag GermanyJanuary 27, 2022
Cyber attack on a service company in Germany
WISAG - Frankfurt/Main, Hesse, Germany
https://www.airliners.de/wisag-ziel-cybe...
Flag MauritiusFebruary 14, 2022
Cyber attack on an airline in Mauritius
Air Mauritius - Port Louis, Mauritius
The island nation of Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar.
https://www.zinfos-moris.com/Air-Mauriti...
Flag USAJuly 5, 2022
Data breach at a U.S. airline
American Airlines - Fort Worth, Texas, USA (Tarrant County and others)
https://media.dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploa...
Flag USAOctober 10, 2022
DDoS attack on Iowa airport website
Des Moines International Airport - Des Moines, Iowa, USA (Polk County, Dallas County, Warren County)
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/cybera...
Flag USAOctober 10, 2022
DDoS attack on the website of a California airport
Los Angeles International Airport - Los Angeles, California, USA
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/cybera...
Flag USAOctober 10, 2022
DDoS attack on the website of a Georgia airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport - Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Fulton County, DeKalb County)
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/cybera...
Flag USAOctober 10, 2022
DDoS attack on the website of a New York airport
LaGuardia Airport - New York City, New York, USA
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/cybera...

Overviews

How many companies and organizations were affected by cyberattacks?

KonBriefing Research had counted 38 successful cyberattacks on companies and organizations for 2022.

When did cyber attacks take place?

For 2022, KonBriefing Research counted the following successful cyberattacks on aviation companies and organizations: January (2)  •  February (5)  •  March (3)  •  April (3)  •  May (9)  •  July (2)  •  August (1)  •  October (11)  •  November (2)

Which industries were affected by cyberattacks?

For 2022, KonBriefing Research found successful cyberattacks on companies and organizations of the following industries: Aviation (38)  •  Transportation (32)  •  Aiport (21)  •  Airline (10)  •  Aerospace & Defense (4)  •  Public sector (2)  •  Military (2)  •  Universities (1)  •  Technology (1)  •  Service provider (1)  •  Rescue (1)  •  Healthcare (1) (Multiple assignments possible).

About KonBriefing Research

KonBriefing.com is an independent researcher and analyst in the field of IT security, information security, risk management and compliance. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in Germany.

About the author

Bert Kondruss
Author:
Bert Kondruss
Founder and managing director of KonBriefing Research

Cyber attacks worldwide

Cyber attacks worldwide
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