Swissport Recovers from Ramsomware Attack

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Ground and cargo handling service company Swissport is recovering its IT systems following a ransomware attack that interrupted flights late last week.

The Zurich-based company handles everything including check-in gates and airport security to baggage handling, aircraft fueling and deicing, and lounge services. It claims to have delivered ground services to 97 million travelers and managed above five million tons of air freight last year.

Swissport issued a statement on Twitter on Friday, warning that its IT infrastructure had been compromised by ransomware, and apologized for any service disruptions.

However, the company seemed to have regained control a day later. The company tweeted, “IT security incident at #Swissport contained Affected infrastructure has been swiftly taken offline. Manual workarounds or fallback systems secured operation at all times. Full system clean-up and restoration are now underway. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Photo: Swissport

The Ransomware Attact


It’s uncertain how much the downtime affected the company’s numerous clients worldwide. However, according to a report in the German media, it created minor delays at Zurich Airport (ZRH). An airport spokeswoman said that 22 aircraft were delayed by three to 20 minutes yesterday due to system faults at our airport partner Swissport.

The assailants are thought to have attacked early on Thursday, February 3rd. There had been no noticeable impact on business at Zurich Airport by Friday.

During the disruption, backup measures apparently kicked in to ensure that aircraft personnel was not affected. “There may be delays in some circumstances,” a Swissport representative admitted.

The statement came after a week of attacks and disruptions at European ports and oil terminals, affecting gasoline supply chains at a time when prices are rising and fears of a spillover effect from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are growing.

“It’s unclear whether the increase in attacks is linked to current geopolitical developments,” said Andy Norton, Armis’ European cyber-risk officer.

Norton added, “However, critical service providers should immediately examine the soundness of their risk assessments, with a focus on the criticality of auxiliary IT systems with enhanced connectivity, as well as the potential to disrupt OT and ICS production and service delivery.”


Featured image: Swissport

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