Japan Airlines cyberattack may cause flight delays, follows series of recent cyber incidents in Japan

TOKYO, JAPAN: Japan Airlines (JAL) reported a cyberattack on Thursday (Dec 26), causing delays to at least nine domestic flights, according to local media. The airline, Japan’s second-largest after All Nippon Airways (ANA), also warned that domestic and international flights might be affected. However, the airline later said it had identified the cause and addressed it, as reported by Malay Mail.

Earlier on Thursday, a JAL spokeswoman told AFP that the airline had been hit by a cyberattack and warned that delays and cancellations could happen.

JAL said in a post on X that network issues began around 7:24 am on Thursday (22.24 GMT Wednesday), which could affect both domestic and international flights. By 8:56 am, the airline identified and resolved the issue but continued to monitor the recovery of its systems.

The airline temporarily suspended ticket sales for both domestic and international flights departing the same day.

On X, JAL apologised to passengers and confirmed the cause of the problem had been addressed. “We identified and addressed the cause of the issue. We are checking the system recovery status. Sales for both domestic and international flights departing today have been suspended. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”

JAL is the latest Japanese company to fall victim to a cyberattack.

In 2023, Japan’s space agency JAXA reported a likely breach, although no sensitive data about rockets or satellites was accessed. That same year, Nagoya Port, a critical hub for trade, was disrupted by a ransomware attack linked to Lockbit, a Russia-based cybercrime group.

Even Japan’s cybersecurity agency, the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC), was breached in 2023. Hackers reportedly had access to its systems for nine months.

In 2022, a cyberattack on a Toyota supplier disrupted the automaker’s operations, forcing a one-day halt at its domestic factories. In June 2024, the video-sharing website Niconico also suspended services due to a large-scale cyberattack. /TISG

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