Japan Airlines experiences cyberattacks, causing flight delays during the year-end season
Japan Airlines experienced cyberattacks that resulted in flight delays during the busy year-end travel season.
TroibNews 
Japan Airlines reported a cyberattack on Thursday that led to delays for over 20 domestic flights. However, the airline stated that it successfully halted the attack and restored its systems within a few hours, assuring that flight safety was not compromised.
The disruption began Thursday morning when the network linking JAL's internal and external systems began to malfunction.
Television footage depicted numerous passengers at Tokyo's Haneda airport packed into terminals during the busy year-end holiday travel period. With the New Year celebrations approaching, many travelers were returning to their hometowns from urban areas.
The airline identified the issue as an attack designed to overwhelm the network with large volumes of data. Such attacks can inundate a network with excessive traffic, rendering it unresponsive or causing it to crash.
JAL clarified that the attack did not involve a virus and did not result in any leaks of customer data. As of late morning, the cyberattack had caused delays to 24 domestic flights of over 30 minutes.
Experts have frequently expressed concerns regarding Japan's cybersecurity vulnerabilities, particularly as the nation enhances its defense measures. While Japan has implemented certain improvements, specialists argue that further action is necessary.
In June, Japan's space agency disclosed that it had experienced a series of cyberattacks since 2023, although sensitive data related to rockets, satellites, and defense remained unaffected. They were conducting investigations to improve preventive measures. The previous year, a cyberattack disrupted operations at a Nagoya port container terminal for three days.
For a brief period, JAL suspended ticket sales for both domestic and international flights scheduled for departure on Thursday, but resumed those operations several hours later.
During a regular news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi indicated that the transport ministry had instructed JAL to expedite its system restoration and assist impacted passengers.
Other airlines in Japan, such as ANA Holdings, Skymark, and Starflyer, were not impacted by the cyberattack.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
The disruption began Thursday morning when the network linking JAL's internal and external systems began to malfunction.
Television footage depicted numerous passengers at Tokyo's Haneda airport packed into terminals during the busy year-end holiday travel period. With the New Year celebrations approaching, many travelers were returning to their hometowns from urban areas.
The airline identified the issue as an attack designed to overwhelm the network with large volumes of data. Such attacks can inundate a network with excessive traffic, rendering it unresponsive or causing it to crash.
JAL clarified that the attack did not involve a virus and did not result in any leaks of customer data. As of late morning, the cyberattack had caused delays to 24 domestic flights of over 30 minutes.
Experts have frequently expressed concerns regarding Japan's cybersecurity vulnerabilities, particularly as the nation enhances its defense measures. While Japan has implemented certain improvements, specialists argue that further action is necessary.
In June, Japan's space agency disclosed that it had experienced a series of cyberattacks since 2023, although sensitive data related to rockets, satellites, and defense remained unaffected. They were conducting investigations to improve preventive measures. The previous year, a cyberattack disrupted operations at a Nagoya port container terminal for three days.
For a brief period, JAL suspended ticket sales for both domestic and international flights scheduled for departure on Thursday, but resumed those operations several hours later.
During a regular news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi indicated that the transport ministry had instructed JAL to expedite its system restoration and assist impacted passengers.
Other airlines in Japan, such as ANA Holdings, Skymark, and Starflyer, were not impacted by the cyberattack.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
