14 DAY TRIAL // Austrian authorities are investigating an attempted cyber-attack perpetrated by Turkish hackers who go by the name of Aslan Neferler Tim (translated from Turkish as Lion Soldiers Team).
The attacks were aimed at the Vienna International Airport, which the hackers targeted with DDoS attacks on Saturday, September 3.
Austrian authorities claim the attacks failed, and they only managed to bring down the website for a short moment, while the airport's internal systems were never affected.
This was a politically motivated attack
The hackers took credit for the attack on Twitter, via a tweet sent out in Turkish. A translated tweet alludes to a politically motivated attack, launching accusations of racism against Vienna airport officials.
According to the Associated Press, the attack might be in response to airport officials denying an emergency visa for Turkish citizens after a flight was grounded for technical reasons. Because of this, passengers were not allowed to leave the airport and couldn't sleep in a nearby hotel.
On the other hand, according to The Local, an Austrian newspaper, the attack might be in response to the Austrian government requesting the EU to stop all membership negotiations with Turkey after the way its government handled the failed coup attempt, which many human rights groups have considered a travesty.
Other airports targeted in the past
At the end of July 2016, Chinese hackers launched more catastrophic cyber-attacks against Vietnamese airports, penetrating their internal network, disrupting flights, and altering message boards at airports across the country. Airports were shut down for at least six hours as Vietnamese officials dealt with the attacks.
These attacks were in response to the Philippines and neighboring countries winning a court decision against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
Similarly, in June 2015, Polish airline LOT had to ground flights for five hours after a cyber-attack targeted the computer tasked with scheduling outgoing flights.
Vatandaşlarımıza ırkçılık yapan Avusturya Viyana havaalanın resmi sitesi tarafımızca erişme kapatılmıştır. pic.twitter.com/SmFTmVRFmJ — Aslan Neferler Tim (@AslaNeferler) September 3, 2016