A suspected cyber attack is still causing some services at SEA Airport to malfunction, with many passengers still experiencing inconvenience.
Officials say only four flights were canceled due to the suspected cyberattack. The attack shut down operations directly connected to the Port of Seattle’s web-based system, forcing several airlines to handwrite everything.
Internationally based airlines are being hit, but five domestic airlines and their passengers are also struggling.
Actually, you can see that impact here. This readerboard would normally contain information about flight arrivals and departures. But it’s black.
And that’s not all.
They’re turning to old-school manpower at SEA Airport, a day after a suspected cyberattack shut down the Port of Seattle’s entire web-based system.
Now the airport relies on volunteers in green uniforms to do the job.
This is perhaps the most visible result of a cyberattack discovered by port officials Saturday morning. This, and the black reading boards above our heads.
At a press conference late in the afternoon, the manager of SEA Airport said they had been working day and night to resolve the crisis.
Lance Lyttle was asked if they had any idea what the cyber attackers were after.
“So we don’t know specifically what anyone is looking for,” said Lyttle, SEA Managing Director for Aviation. “We are still actively investigating. We are focused on getting the systems that were actually affected back up and running so that we can get passengers and airlines back to normal.”
This proves to be a challenge for passengers of various international and domestic airlines that are directly connected to the port’s web system.
It has forced workers at Frontier Airlines to hand-write baggage tickets and require passengers to check their own bags into the airline. But first they must go through the TSA, whose strict rules about what is allowed remain in effect.
This is no surprise here.
“No,” said Fred Hiles, a Frontier passenger on his way home to Wisconsin. “They want you to put all your information out there for everyone to see. So how can anyone be surprised?”
The good news is that most airlines are not affected by the attack. They are using their own independent systems.
But there’s more bad news: airport officials have no idea when their system will be up and running again.
They promise to have another press conference tomorrow, so stay tuned.
