Chinese hackers managed to stop the operation of Vietnam's largest airports. Such invasions, albeit unusual, may cause chaos in major transport hubs around the world and possibly immediate delays and cancellations.
According to the local website informationς Tuoi Tre News, on Friday, the flight information screens at Hanoi International Airport Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City began to display bullish and insulting English-language messages against Vietnam. Malfunctions and errors were also observed in other airports in the country.
Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Nt confirmed the attack, arguing that law enforcement officials were able to prevent attackers from further harm.
However, many airlines flying from 21 airports in the country were forced to close the check-in counters by doing everything manually to keep the flight schedule.
"All internet systems were turned off and so we had to do everything by hand," an airport employee told Tan Son Nhat.
The hackers took charge of the China 1937CN Team attack.
According to sources from inside, personal data from about 411.000 passengers were also intercepted.
"We are trying to restore the data and I can not comment at this time if the data has been leaked to external sources," the source added.
The attacks took place after the UN rejected Chinese claims in the East sea of Vietnam, which has angered the Beijing.
