https://www.xperience-group.com/news-item/swissports-cyber-security-proves-resilient-to-an-attempted-ransomware-attack/
Swissport, who operate at more than 300 Airports, handling over 280 million passengers and close to five million tonnes of cargo per annum, have openly shared the successful containment of an attempted Ransomware attack– saying;
“Only a small number of flights from Zurich were delayed, but otherwise the malware had a very limited impact.”
Whilst this is great news; we have to wonder whether this may be a hint of trouble to come. However, it is refreshing that a large corporate company, such as Swissport, feel so positively confident in their cyber security infrastructure that they are willing to share this news.
The attack (by an undisclosed hacking group) occurred on Thursday 3rd February, early in the morning. It appears to have done little damage to the firm’s ability to conduct its day-to-day operations. – which include cargo and baggage handling, passenger security screening, facilities maintenance and cleaning, and hospitality services.
The start of 2022 has been prolific with the severity of Ransomware attacks. However, unlike other attacks that occurred throughout January (Targeting of the Oil Industry, Supply chains and CNI actors) Swissport have proven, confidently at that, that having appropriate Ransomware mitigations and protective measures in place, will likely leave your business relatively uncompromised and your functions mostly uninterrupted.
Because this is one of the first large corporate companies to raise their hand admitting to being targeted whilst successfully defending themselves. Swissport must have unreserved confidence in its cyber infrastructure to share this occurrence and highlight its relative inefficiency. If all businesses had this level of protection in place, we would read more stories like this instead of the continual scaremongering and ransomware horror stories we have all become accustomed to!
In short, Swissport has demonstrated how; with the correct, resilient and the necessary cyber security measures in place, one can be under attack whilst fully functioning as a business and experience very minor alterations to the daily business running. This is a bold move from Swissport as we all know the old saying “you always want what you can’t have”, so this is likely to put them in the headlights of other hacking groups. However as As a cyber security provider, we hope this particular company continue to tempt and prove hackers wrong, – showing the rest of the ‘big corporates’ how it is done.
If you want to make sure your cyber security is up to the task, please do give us a call today and we can assess your current cyber security armour, recommend improvements and/or alterations, and tailor a resilient cyber security defence to your bespoke needs.
