Crow call: Hackers target Russian airline

Pro-Ukraine computer hackers have hit Russia airline Aeroflot.

The Russian flag carrier was forced to cancel numerous flights this week after hackers launched a cyberattack, Travel Mole reported.

The Silent Crow group claimed responsibility as dozens of Aeroflot flights were cancelled on Monday.

“We declare the successful completion of a prolonged and large-scale operation, as a result of which the internal IT infrastructure of Aeroflot was completely compromised and destroyed,” Silent Crow wrote on Telegram. “Glory to Ukraine” Long live Belarus!”

The hackers said that a year-long infiltration of Aeroflot’s systems allowed them to steal 20 terabytes of data and destroy 7,000 servers.

There was some disruption to virtually all the airline's IT systems causing major flight schedule changes.

"Customers may encounter issues when accessing our services,” the airline said.

“We kindly ask passengers to monitor real-time updates on airport websites, information displays, and public announcements across the route network.”

Aeroflot's IT teams were "actively working to minimise the impact on flight operations and restore all services to as quickly as possible"

Both the Kremlin and the Russian Prosecutor General confirmed the cyberattack and a criminal investigation was launched.

Silent Crow said its motivation for the attack was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.