Drones, systems hack test Europe's aviation security defences

By Joanna Plucinska and James Pearson

LONDON (Reuters) -A hack hitting major airports across Europe followed by drone incursions in Copenhagen and Oslo are testing the weak spots of the region's aviation infrastructure and raising fears about coordinated attacks leading to increased disruption.

In Denmark, drones halted flights at Copenhagen's main airport on Monday for several hours, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen linking the incident to a series of suspected Russian drone incursions and other disruptions across Europe.

That came alongside a separate drone incident in Norwegian capital Oslo and days after hackers hit check-in systems with a ransomware attack at airports including London's Heathrow, Europe's busiest, as well as in Berlin and Brussels.

Investigators are yet to determine who was behind the disruption, but experts see them as part of a spate of recent "hybrid threat" incidents in the region to test how countries manage their critical infrastructure.

"First is to test how the method works. In this case, it leads to closing down airports," said Jukka Savolainen, network director at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. "The second testing point is our reaction."

Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said in a statement sent to Reuters that allegations of Russian involvement were ungrounded. Reuters could not independently confirm who was behind the drone disruption or the weekend hack.

ATTACKS SHOW VULNERABILITY OF SECTORS SUCH AS AVIATION

The disruptions, though, lay bare how vulnerable the civil aviation sector's operations can be, with outages down the supply chain rippling across airports and airline operations, leading to hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights.

As so-called "hybrid war" threats grow, including drones, GPS interference and hacks, experts say aviation regulators need to take more proactive steps to mitigate against risks to cybersecurity, navigation systems and overall safety.

"This attack shows just how vulnerable highly connected industries like aviation can be," said Bart Salaets at U.S. cybersecurity firm F5, speaking about the weekend hack of Collins Aerospace check-in software.

Analysts and experts Reuters spoke to pointed to an increase in activity by possible Russian actors across Europe in recent weeks as an impetus for regulators to offer clearer guidelines and encourage more action to defend critical infrastructure. 

"(Drone activity) is getting worse and in my opinion it won't stop," said Eric Schouten, director of security intelligence and aviation advisory firm Dyami. 

"Airlines are looking at governments and authorities in this, airports the same."

Moscow has consistently denied responsibility for any hybrid attack in Europe.

Europe's air traffic control body Eurocontrol said it was providing support to local air traffic control and national authorities to manage the impact of such incidents.

"Operators need to be able to dynamically risk assess their operations, have plans in place for diverts and risk mitigation measures," aviation security consultancy Osprey's intelligence officer Matthew Borie told Reuters.

REGULATORS NEED TO TIGHTEN STANDARDS

The cost and burden of upgrading infrastructure could prevent airports from moving fast to react, even as security concerns in civil airspace gain prominence with a war at Europe's eastern edge after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Upgrading technology at airports, such as jamming tools, lasers and trackers, to mitigate risks from hacks and drones can cost millions of dollars and be a cumbersome process - one that not all infrastructure operators are willing to undertake imminently. 

Airline trade body IATA also said that anti-drone technology was still developing and was often beyond an airport's budget. In the United States, the FAA says that it receives more than 100 reports of drone sightings near airports each month.

Jake Moore, an advisor at ESET, a Slovakian cybersecurity firm, said that when aviation supply chains were attacked it created disruption on a global scale.

"Regulators need to tighten standards even more for critical aviation IT suppliers," he said.

"Whether this was a deliberate disruption attack, a financially motivated ransom or a major technical failure, the impact demonstrates how fragile such systems can be in a digitally focused world."

(Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington and Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Alex Richardson)