![](https://d15shllkswkct0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2018/09/bristolaiport.jpg)
![](https://d15shllkswkct0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2018/09/bristolaiport.jpg)
Flight information screens were taken offline for two days at the Bristol Airport in the U.K. after the network powering the screens were hijacked by ransomware.
The attack started Friday morning, taking out the entire network, although it’s not clear from reports how the ransomware got into the system and whether it affected other networked computers at the airport.
Going old school, airport workers were forced to use whiteboards and paper to advise passengers of flight information, including departure and arrival gates, scheduled times and luggage pickup points.
The outages in the network caused delays in baggage handling, with some customers complaining that they have to wait longer than an hour for their bags, suggesting that the same network for bag management may also have been affected.
It’s all fun and games at #BristolAirport!😬 lets hope they don’t run out of paper📝 pic.twitter.com/nYefn9Aqr4
— Julieanne McMahon (@julieanne_mc) September 14, 2018
The airport initially described the issue as “technical problems” but later admitted it was dealing with a ransomware infection, according to ZDNet. It said it doesn’t intend to pay the attacker’s ransom demand and instead opted to take down its systems while it serviced affected computers. Services were mostly restored as of lunchtime Sunday.
This isn’t the first time an airport has had issues with ransomware and it likely won’t be the last. The infamous Petya attack in 2017 affected a number of airports in Europe, while an attack against the City of Atlanta earlier this year saw authorities disable Wi-Fi at local airports in an attempt to limit the spread of the attack.
Airports are often at the forefront of technological advances, but with increased connectivity comes increased risks.
THANK YOU