Log in

Hackers demand $6 million for files stolen from Seattle airport operator in cyberattack

Posted 9/18/24

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers are demanding $6 million in bitcoin from the operator of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for documents they stole during a cyberattack last month and posted on …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

Hackers demand $6 million for files stolen from Seattle airport operator in cyberattack

Posted

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers are demanding $6 million in bitcoin from the operator of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for documents they stole during a cyberattack last month and posted on the dark web this week, an airport official said Wednesday.

The Port of Seattle, which owns and runs the airport, has decided not to pay, the official said.

The airport previously linked the attack to a ransomware gang called Rhysida, and now the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation, said Lance Lyttle, the port's managing director of aviation.

Lyttle told a U.S. Senate committee that the airport appears to have stopped the attack, but the hackers were able to encrypt some data.

“On Monday, they posted on their dark website a copy of eight files stolen from Port systems and are seeking 100 bitcoin to buy the data,” Lyttle said.

Lyttle did not describe the documents. He said the airport will contact any individuals whose personal information might have been stolen.

Port officials have said paying the ransomware would not be a good use of taxpayer money.

The airport is still recovering from the attack, which began Aug. 24. The attack was launched at a busy time, a week before the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Flights were able to operate, but the attack snarled ticketing, check-in kiosks and baggage handling. Passengers on smaller airlines had to use paper boarding passes.

The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, said last month that Rhysida was behind a data breach of city systems. The mayor downplayed the value of the stolen data and said the city never got a ransom demand.