Chinese hacker group denies involvement in Vietnam airport cyber-attack

By VnExpress   July 30, 2016 | 07:24 am PT
More than 100 flights from two major airports of Vietnam were delayed due to the incident on Friday.

Chinese hacker group, 1937CN, on Saturday dismissed accusations that it launched a cyber-attack at two major airports in Vietnam on July 29, saying the accusations were unfounded, according to a statement in Chinese posted on the group's website.

1937CN, however, did not refer to the attack on the website of Vietnam’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, which was also hacked on Friday afternoon.

Vietnam Airlines' website was breached at 4 p.m. Friday by hackers who changed the site's content with an announcement saying that the site had been hacked and a link to download confidential data of the airline's 400,000 frequent flier club members.

An insulting message about Vietnam and the Philippines was posted, referring to China's claims to the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea. Name of hacking group 1937cn appeared at the bottom of the page, suggesting it was responsible for the attack.

Meanwhile, at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports, screens displaying flight information were seen containing distorted information about the South China Sea.

The sound systems were also taken over. Authorities realized that a strange message had been airing for about four minutes, and turned off the entire loudspeaker system.

The statement in Chinese on 1937CN website. Photo by VnExpress

The statement in Chinese on 1937CN website. Photo by VnExpress

The incident has led to the delay of more than 100 flights with 64 from Tan Son Nhat and 30 from Noi Bai. Tens of flights on Friday were delayed by 15 minutes to more than an hour, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam on Saturday.

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