On Sunday, 23 March, a cyberattack on Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) systems produced a massive disruption that lasted for more than ten hours. This interruption impacted airline operations and left thousands of travelers stranded.
A highly placed source stated that the event, which started in the early morning hours, rendered the flight information display system, check-in counters, and baggage handling at the airport inoperable. As a result, airlines and airport staff were forced to convert to manual operations.
Although the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) had published a joint statement earlier stating that the incident did not impair airport operations, this statement contradicted that statement.
The findings initially indicated that a cyber breach had compromised crucial systems at KLIA, which, according to the source, caused the protracted outage.
“However, authorities have yet to confirm the nature of the attack or identify the parties responsible.”
According to the source, numerous delays were reported throughout the day, which indicated that the interruption significantly influenced aircraft schedules.
“The situation was further compounded by the lack of a robust backup system, which slowed recovery efforts.”
Following the attack, flight information boards were reportedly unavailable for two days before reverting to their normal state, according to a source within the aviation sector.
“Can’t say we weren’t affected. Thousands of people saw that the boards weren’t working.”
