AerCap confirms cybersecurity attack

Irish aircraft leasing giant AerCap is investigating a cybersecurity attack on its systems, but says that it suffered no financial loss as result of the hack.

Claims surfaced online at the weekend that an organisation had hacked the Dublin-headquartered multinational’s systems and planned to leak data within days.

AerCap confirmed that on January 17th it experienced “a cybersecurity incident related to ransomware”.

“Our investigation into this incident, including the extent to which data may have been exfiltrated or otherwise impacted, remains ongoing,” said AerCap in a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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The New York Stock Exchange-listed company stressed that it promptly began investigating the attack with the support of third party cybersecurity experts, and that it had notified law enforcement. “We have full control of all our IT systems and to date we have suffered no financial loss related to this incident,” it said. AerCap did not comment beyond this statement.

Led by chief executive Aengus Kelly, AerCap is its industry’s biggest player. It leases more than 1,700 aircraft, along with helicopters and engines, to 300 airlines and other clients around the world. Its revenues are around $7 billion (€6.5bn) and it has $72 billion worth of assets.

No group has directly claimed responsibility for the attack. Reports of it emerged online and on social media at the weekend from organisations that monitor hacking trends and activity.

Cyber criminals have increasingly targeted air travel or related businesses in recent months. Last year Air Canada, Kenya Airways, aircraft make, Boeing, and component manufacturer Japan Aviation Electronics all confirmed such attacks.

Hackers typically use ransomware to access or block a victim’s data until they pay a ransom for its release or restoration. Criminal gangs based in Russia or other jurisdictions that make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify or track them down are largely thought to be behind these attacks.

AerCap buys aircraft from manufacturers using a combination of its own cash and borrowings. It then leases them to airlines and other customers.