DDoS Attack on Hawaiian Airport Websites Linked to Russian Hacker Group

The Hawaiian defense department has revealed that several systems were targeted by a distributed denial of service attack, which the agency linked to the Russia-based hacker group Killnet. Officials said the DDoS attack focused on systems hosting the landing page for 15 state airport websites, including the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Hawaii’s Office of Homeland Security is working with the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to address the cyber incident, according to a press release posted on Hawaii .gov.

“The State of Hawai‘i, in cooperation with federal partners, routinely works to prepare for and respond to cybersecurity-related incidents,” said Hawaii Gov. David Ige. “This attack was focused only on the public-facing website for the airports and had no impact on internal systems, operations, or traveler safety.”

The incident took place on Monday. Killnet claimed that it was responsible for the attack by listing targeted domains on a Telegram channel. The Russian hacker group was also linked to similar cyber incidents in the U.S. In March, the group used the DDoS method to force an airport website offline in response to the U.S. support for Ukraine, which is being invaded by Russia.

According to OHS Administrator Frank Pace, the office is also working with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI to boost response efforts.

“Events such as this highlight the importance of all organizations, public and private, remaining vigilant of cyber threats and implementing recommended security measures,” said Pace.