Cyber attacks to airports’ websites not affect aviation activities
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on March 10 confirmed that several recent cyber attacks targeting the websites of some airports in Vietnam did not affect aviation activities and operation of the airports.
The ministry quoted IT experts as saying that the attacks on March 8 and 9 only impacted the online portal for information provision of the airports. Important information systems related to flying activities as well as operation of the airports are working normally.
Authorised agencies are gathering, analyzing and verifying relevant information in the cases, the ministry revealed.
The ministry added that such attacks were not new, but they still happened as the information security for website has yet to receive adequate attention.
A representative from the MIC’s Agency for Information Security, said that the most important reason behind failure in ensuring security is the negligence of security software upgrade and security hole checks.
At the same time, the websites are sharing infrastructure without considering suitable information security policies, leading to high risks of attack from websites of organizations and individuals on the same system.
The representative also pointed to a lack of experts and information sharing which hinder the timely and effective response to and handling of problems in information security.
The MIC has asked the Agency for Information Security and the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Teams to work with the IT Centre of the Ministry of Transport – a centre for management of websites suffering cyber attacks – to cope with the case.
It has also requested functional units and IT service providers to strengthen support to important sectors to avoid similar cases.
The MIC also warned Internet users not to access the attacked websites for their own safety, while asking owners of websites to strictly abide by the Law on Cyber Information Security and other relevant documents.
On March 8, the website of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, www.tansonnhatairport.vn, was allegedly hacked as many people reported they were unable to access the website at about 10:45 p.m. of the day. It was recovered at around 10 a.m. of March 9.
Authorised agencies are gathering, analyzing and verifying relevant information in the cases, the ministry revealed.
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| A screenshot of Rach Gia airport's wembsite while being attacked |
A representative from the MIC’s Agency for Information Security, said that the most important reason behind failure in ensuring security is the negligence of security software upgrade and security hole checks.
At the same time, the websites are sharing infrastructure without considering suitable information security policies, leading to high risks of attack from websites of organizations and individuals on the same system.
The representative also pointed to a lack of experts and information sharing which hinder the timely and effective response to and handling of problems in information security.
The MIC has asked the Agency for Information Security and the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Teams to work with the IT Centre of the Ministry of Transport – a centre for management of websites suffering cyber attacks – to cope with the case.
It has also requested functional units and IT service providers to strengthen support to important sectors to avoid similar cases.
The MIC also warned Internet users not to access the attacked websites for their own safety, while asking owners of websites to strictly abide by the Law on Cyber Information Security and other relevant documents.
On March 8, the website of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, www.tansonnhatairport.vn, was allegedly hacked as many people reported they were unable to access the website at about 10:45 p.m. of the day. It was recovered at around 10 a.m. of March 9.
