The Ministry of Public Security and the Committee of Civil Aviation Security has directed national authorities to trace, intervene, and propose measures to prevent future incidents.
On July, 29th, the computer systems were hacked at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City at 1.46 p.m., and in Hanoi's Noi Bai airport at 4.07 p.m. The attacks interrupted the airports’ electronic check-in systems, so check-in procedures were handled manually, leading to more than 100 flight delays for up to one hour.
Shortly after the attacks, the ground handling unit quickly deployed a response plan and corrected the problem, keeping flights operational and promoting aviation safety.
Nguyen Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Northern Airports Authority said: "Right after the attack, the system closed immediately and moved to handle check-in procedures for passengers in other ways. Flight operations and security systems at the airports still worked as usual".
The incident caused flight delays, but did not affect safety. Airport workers received sympathy and patience from passengers while waiting for flight procedures.
Lai Xuan Thanh, Head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said: "This attack targeted the information flight system, but didn’t affect the flight control network. The Security force, along with the Ministry of Public Security, helped solve the problem".
According to a representative from the Northern Airports Authority,the flight control systems at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat use an internal network, and are not connected to the internet. Vietnam Airlines also had back-up plans, so all flights are still operating safely. The authorities are currently investigating.
