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Dhaka: Digital infrastructures of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have encountered a massive cyberattack on March 23, and the attack caused severe operational disruptions and stranded thousands of travelers for prolonged hours.
The attack began during the early hours and crippled flight information display systems, check-in counters, and baggage handling systems, which led the airlines and airport staff to switch to manual operations, according to a highly placed source.
The responsible authority couldn't detect the nature of the attack or identify the crackers involved yet. But initial findings suggest KLIA's critical systems were compromised, and the lack of a proper backup system slowed the recovery process, which further prolonged the outage.
However, referring to the country's National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA), Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), the operator of KLIA, claimed the attack didn't impact airport operations.
Shukreen Ma, the corporate communications general manager of MAHB, said flight information display screens were recovered within four hours. Though an aviation industry source claimed flight information boards were inoperative for two days since the attack.
On March 25, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim first revealed the incident. He said the attackers claimed a ransom of USD 10 million, and the PM immediately refused the demand.
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