Seattle-Tacoma International Airport still recovering from cyberattack

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is almost back to restoring all systems and airport operations after being struck by a cyberattack on 24 August 2024. The cyberattack affected internet and display systems. Lance Lyttle, Managing Director of Aviation at SEA, stated in a press conference on 29 August that: “Operationally, everything is running close to normal and there have been limited flight cancellations since Saturday [24 August]. SEA was able to bring the baggage sorting operations back online earlier this week.”

SEA has also given an update on 2 September, stating “Volunteers remain on the ground to help travellers. Airline and other travel apps can also be used to track locations for gates and baggage claim arrivals.

“Aircraft are departing and arriving as we remain open, and travellers are getting to and from their destinations. Delays are minimal. TSA wait times are minimal as well.

“We continue to bring up more common use monitors and systems, most recently in various locations within the S Concourse and D Annex.”

How did this affect the airport?

SEA officials are still investigating the cyberattack and will provide appropriate updates as they become available. Their teams are working on safely testing and restoring the airport systems and are continuing to work closely with the government and third-party partners to support that effort.

The effects of this cyberattack caused:

• Outage of flight reader boards
• Wi-Fi disabled
• Over 400 delays and cancelled flights
• Tickets for international flights had to be issued by hand
• Passenger information had to be entered manually
• Increase passenger waiting queues
• Baggage system shutdown.

SEA does not believe any personal data has been stolen, nor what the hackers were trying to achieve.

How can airports protect themselves in the future from cyberattacks?

According to Sam Sabin, a Cybersecurity reporter, airports should: “Make sure all employees have good password hygiene, and that they make sure they are using multi-factor authentication. So many cybersecurity issues comes down to basic mistakes, such as re-using passwords on multiple accounts. The other would be that if you use a vendor or third-party for your cybersecurity, you should keep in close contact with your them as large sections of the industry rely on a few vendors.”