Aeroflot employees were using outdated versions of Windows, and the CEO hadn't changed his password for three years.
It was because of this that the cyber attack that brought down the company's infrastructure became possible, stated Hackers from the Cyber Partisans BY group claimed responsibility for the hack.
According to them, Aeroflot used Windows XP and Windows 2003 operating systems, and Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky has not changed his password since 2022.
The Windows XP and Windows 2003 operating systems were released in October 2001 and April 2003, respectively. Microsoft ended support for Windows XP in 2014, and for Windows 2003 even earlier, in 2010.
Due to a system failure today, Aeroflot canceled 54 scheduled flights, the Ministry of Transport clarified (previously, 42 scheduled flights were canceled). According to Cyber Partisans BY, approximately 7000 physical and virtual servers were destroyed, and over 20 terabytes of data, including corporate email and internal documents, were obtained. The hackers also claim to have gained control of employees' computers, including those of the airline's management.