Port of Seattle says it was hit with possible cyberattack; outage affects airport, phone systems

Port of Seattle says it was hit with possible cyberattack; outage affects airport, phone systems Taylor Soper

Tugboats guide a container ship at the Port of Seattle. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

The Port of Seattle said Saturday it was hit with a “possible cyberattack” that impacted Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, phone systems, and websites.

The outage was first reported Saturday morning just after 9 a.m. PT, described as an “internet and web systems outage.” A few hours later, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport posted on X and said the Port “experienced certain system outages indicating a possible cyberattack.”

The Port posted another update just before midnight Saturday and said it was still seeing system outages. It did not provide an estimated time for return and suggested travelers “check with your airline for travel information, use airline apps to get your boarding pass and bag tags online, and allow extra time to get to SEA and to your gate.”

A spokesperson for the Port did not have additional information to share with GeekWire.

It’s not clear if the outage is impacting flight delays at Sea-Tac Airport or cruise travel in Seattle. There were six canceled flights on Saturday at the airport, according to FlightAware, and four canceled flights as of 8 a.m. PT on Sunday.

 “TSA is aware of the outage to the Port of Seattle’s internet service and is working with its partners at the Port,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement to GeekWire. “There is no impact to TSA’s operations at the security checkpoint and TSA ​continues to screen passengers using its robust procedures.”

The Port and airport’s website were still down Sunday morning. The Port said Saturday that its Maritime Facilities phone systems were down.

The outages come a month after a flawed update from cybersecurity software company CrowdStrike caused a global IT disruption, including at Sea-Tac and airports across the country.

President Biden signed an executive order earlier this year to strengthen cybersecurity at ports in America amid heightened concerns from foreign hackers targeting U.S. infrastructure.

The Port of Houston said in 2021 that it was targeted by suspected nation-state hackers.

https://ift.tt/uTxsc3M August 25, 2024 at 03:19PM GeekWire