Split Airport after the hacker attack: We will not negotiate

The chaos that occurred yesterday afternoon at the Split airport with the suspension of all flights is the result of a hacker attack on the passenger reception information system. Along with the attack, hackers also sent a ransom letter that will not be answered. 

Yesterday afternoon and evening was chaotic at the Split airport, however air traffic security was not in question. "The IT failure was related to communication with passengers, but also the media, and it was only clear late in the night what had happened,” said Minister Oleg Butković.

“It was a hacker's attack; that has been confirmed, similar to the hacker attack on the Clinical Hospital Center in Zagreb. The situation has been normalized after the airport management and personnel, manually conducted business, meaning the system has still not been returned to the level it was before the attack, and things are functioning,” he added.

He said they will not respond to blackmail.

“Messages have been deciphered, like what happened at the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Center, they tried to get into some sort of negotiations or discussion, however we dismissed that. There will be no negotiations with anyone, all institutions have been included that are responsible for cyber security from the Interior Ministry and the Security Intelligence Agency,” noted the minister.

The director of the airport Lukša Novak confirmed that credit for the attack was taken by the so called Akira group.

“Through the message they appeared with that name, it is possible to find out who they are, what they do and how they operate on the internet, but is it them behind it or someone else with the same name,” said Novak.

When commenting the cyber-attack President Zoran Milanović warned that this is another problem and said that we don't stand well here, even though the security community is working hard.

“Sometimes it is difficult or even impossible to determine where it came from, that is dangerous and deadly for world peace and security, because tomorrow under a false flag, one big country can hit another big country, and they don't know it and can't clearly determine where the hit came from,” said Milanović.

Monday wasn't chosen by chance for such an attack, because for years, along with Saturday and Sunday, it is the day with the most frequency, especially in departures. Traffic is normalizing and all obligations are being fulfilled with the current tempo.

"The Split airport will have the most passenger traffic in the country again this year, and we will do everything to protect critical infrastructure with our own knowledge and efforts," promised Minister Oleg Butković.

Source: HRT