SEATTLE, WA - Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Port of Seattle were stricken with an internet and web outage over the weekend. The attacks were determined to be part of a concerted cyberattack. Thousands of travelers were affected by the outage which began Saturday and has persisted at the time of this writing.
According to The Associated Press, the airport’s aviation managing director Lance Lyttle told a Sunday press conference, "We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts to our passengers." Lyttle explained that the airport is currently investigating the outage with assistance from outside services and partners in Federal Agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection.
“We have had airline staff doing things like handwriting boarding passes and sorting bags manually,” Lyttle told the outlet. He added that everyone was “working towards the goal of keeping the airport operating.”
In a statement regarding the outage, the TSA wrote, "TSA is aware of the outage to the Port of Seattle’s internet service and is working with its partners at the Port. There is no impact to TSA’s operations at the security checkpoint and TSA continues to screen passengers using its robust procedures."
Greg Hawko, the Washington State TSA security director told the Times, "We’ve continued to provide the world-class security that TSA provides every day. All checked bags and all passengers were screened with our robust security procedures. Our nearly 1,000 TSA officers here at Seattle airport continue to provide the highest level of security.”
Reporting from KOMO stated that officials said they do not know what the cyber attackers were after and that they don't believe any critical passenger data was leaked. Lyttle told reporters, "We don't know specifically what they might be after, but we're still conducting an active investigation is going on right now what we're focusing right now is actually getting the systems that are actually impacted back up and running."
The Port of Seattle informed the press that it has isolated critical systems and is in the process of restoring full service. The airport said in a post to Facebook Sunday, "Port teams continue to make progress on returning systems to normal operations, but there is not an estimated time for return."
According to The Associated Press, the airport’s aviation managing director Lance Lyttle told a Sunday press conference, "We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts to our passengers." Lyttle explained that the airport is currently investigating the outage with assistance from outside services and partners in Federal Agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection.
Local news outlet Fox13 reported that hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled with authorities attempting to work out the problem. The Seattle Times reported some delays as long as two hours with the FBI Field Office in Seattle saying Sunday that they were "aware of the incident and working with our partners to determine what happened.”The Port of Seattle, including SEA Airport, is experiencing an internet and web systems outage, which is impacting some systems at the airport. Passengers are encouraged to check with their airlines for the latest information for their flights. pic.twitter.com/GY6fbAHBg8
— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2024
“We have had airline staff doing things like handwriting boarding passes and sorting bags manually,” Lyttle told the outlet. He added that everyone was “working towards the goal of keeping the airport operating.”
In a statement regarding the outage, the TSA wrote, "TSA is aware of the outage to the Port of Seattle’s internet service and is working with its partners at the Port. There is no impact to TSA’s operations at the security checkpoint and TSA continues to screen passengers using its robust procedures."
Greg Hawko, the Washington State TSA security director told the Times, "We’ve continued to provide the world-class security that TSA provides every day. All checked bags and all passengers were screened with our robust security procedures. Our nearly 1,000 TSA officers here at Seattle airport continue to provide the highest level of security.”
We are working closely with appropriate authorities and partners to help travelers who may be impacted. If you are traveling today, please check with our airline partners for travel information and allow extra time to get to SEA and to your gate.
— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2024
Reporting from KOMO stated that officials said they do not know what the cyber attackers were after and that they don't believe any critical passenger data was leaked. Lyttle told reporters, "We don't know specifically what they might be after, but we're still conducting an active investigation is going on right now what we're focusing right now is actually getting the systems that are actually impacted back up and running."
The Port of Seattle informed the press that it has isolated critical systems and is in the process of restoring full service. The airport said in a post to Facebook Sunday, "Port teams continue to make progress on returning systems to normal operations, but there is not an estimated time for return."
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments