Following a cyber attack on Boeing, The Allied Pilots Association (APA), a union representing over 15,000 pilots from American Airlines, has been hit by a ransomware attack. The incident, which occurred on October 30, disrupted the union's systems for an entire week.
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Upon discovering the incident, the APA immediately took steps to secure its networks. The union's IT team, with the support of outside experts, has been working nonstop to restore the systems. The attack was so widespread that the union was forced to update its members via social media. The website became inaccessible, and email systems were taken offline. As of November 2, 2023, the restoration process had not been completed, and the APA could not bring back the union’s online services. However, they are working towards this goal, and initially, the Union will restore most of the Web 2.0 products.
Once the initial restoration is in place, they will continue to restore additional services over the coming hours and days, prioritizing pilot-facing products and tools. Simultaneously to the restoration efforts, APA has launched an investigation to determine the scope of this incident, guided by a third-party cybersecurity experts team. The union has determined that the incident was due to ransomware and that certain systems were encrypted. As a result, the restoration of those systems has entailed a methodical and time-consuming process for the IT team and outside experts.
The union is also assessing potential impacts on data, including member data. APA has over 15,000 members. It is one of several unions covering employees at American Airlines. This incident underscores the growing threat of cyberattacks and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures. It serves as a stark reminder for organizations to continually review and update their security protocols to ensure the safety of their data and systems.
