A major cyberattack that threw London’s Heathrow and other European airports into chaos was carried out using an “incredibly basic” form of ransomware, cybersecurity experts have revealed, as UK authorities arrested a man in connection with the breach that forced a return to pen-and-paper check-ins.
The attack, which targeted US-based aerospace and defense company Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, brought down critical check-in and baggage software on Friday night. The result was hundreds of flight delays and scenes of confusion at major hubs including Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, as staff manually processed thousands of passengers. A man in his 40s was arrested in West Sussex on Tuesday but has since been released on bail as the investigation continues.
Cybersecurity analysts have identified the malware as HardBit, a relatively obscure ransomware strain that emerged in 2022. Expert Kevin Beaumont reported that Collins Aerospace has struggled to remove the malware, with devices becoming reinfected even after cleanup attempts, and that hackers were found still inside the network after an initial system rebuild. This ongoing breach has forced the company to advise airlines to plan for at least another week of manual workarounds.
The incident is a dramatic illustration of a frightening trend. A report by French aerospace company Thales, cited by France24, found that cyberattacks targeting the aviation sector have surged by 600% in the last year. The EU’s cybersecurity agency, ENISA, has confirmed the airport disruption was the result of a ransomware attack. This is not the first time Collins Aerospace has been a target; the notorious ransomware group BianLian previously claimed to have breached the company in 2023, raising questions about persistent vulnerabilities in critical travel infrastructure.
As Heathrow deploys extra staff to manage the ongoing disruption, the attack serves as a stark warning of how even seemingly unsophisticated malware can bring the complex, interconnected world of modern air travel to a grinding halt.
