Japan Airlines (JAL) was targeted by a cyberattack on Thursday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights and temporarily suspending ticket sales, The Associated Press reports.
The airline said that while the attack disrupted its network and internal systems, it was able to contain the threat and restore its systems within hours, with no impact on flight safety.
The cyberattack, identified as a “distributed denial-of-service” (DDoS) attack, began on Thursday morning. These attacks overwhelm a network system by flooding it with massive amounts of data, rendering it unresponsive. JAL confirmed that the attack was not caused by a virus and that no customer data was compromised.
The incident led to the delay of 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. JAL also temporarily suspended ticket sales for both domestic and international flights scheduled for Thursday. Ticket sales resumed later in the day after systems were restored.
The attack occurred during a peak travel period as Japan prepares for the New Year holiday, the country’s largest celebration of the year. Television footage showed crowded terminals at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as passengers waited for updates. Millions of people travel back to their hometowns from cities during this time, putting added pressure on transportation infrastructure.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated at a press conference that the transport ministry had instructed JAL to expedite the restoration of its systems and to take care of affected passengers.
Other Japanese airlines, such as ANA Holdings, Skymark, and Starflyer, reported that their systems were unaffected by the attack.
This incident has reignited concerns about Japan’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, which have been repeatedly raised by experts. While the country has taken steps to bolster its defenses, experts say that more needs to be done, particularly as Japan increases its defense capabilities and collaborates more closely with international partners.
Recent cyber incidents include attacks on Japan’s space agency earlier this year, which had begun in 2023, and an attack that paralyzed operations at a container terminal in Nagoya last year, highlighting the challenges the country faces in protecting critical infrastructure from such threats.
