Key facts
- At least 25 commercial flights across Europe were disrupted by hoax bomb threats on November 5, some making emergency landings.
- Investigators have made no finding of orchestration by a hostile terror group or state actor, the Guardian reported.
- Supermarket fridges and freezers in seven European countries malfunctioned, with thermostats remotely raised in some cases to 50C.
- A cybersecurity researcher told the Guardian that attacks on dummy Danfoss fridge controls had 'all the hallmarks' of operations linked to Russia.
- MI5 has about 3,000 active subjects of interest, the Guardian reported.
- Finland's national cybersecurity center received 21,000 reports this year, up from 18,000 last year, the Guardian reported.
Hoax bomb threats disrupted at least 25 commercial flights across Europe on November 5, with some forced to make emergency landings, the Guardian reported in a newsletter published November 6. The disruption followed similar threats on November 3, when seven planes were searched or diverted after malicious alerts.
Investigators have so far made no finding of orchestration by a hostile terror group or state actor, the Guardian reported, though investigations continue. Aviation experts told the Guardian on November 5 that airlines treating the threats as credible suggests a potential level of coordination.
Separately, supermarket fridges and freezers in seven European countries malfunctioned earlier in the week, with thermostats remotely raised in some cases to 50C, in what the Guardian said some fear indicates a new front in hacking tactics. Similar incidents were reported in the UK. A fruit and vegetable wholesaler near Heathrow told the Guardian his fridges failed on November 2.
Dan Milmo, the Guardian's global technology editor, said there are "only ever two likely candidates for a hack": criminal gangs or nation states, adding an emerging category of "troublesome teenagers" such as Scattered Spider, two of whose members were jailed in July for an attack on Transport for London. A cybersecurity researcher told the Guardian that attacks on dummy Danfoss fridge controls had "all the hallmarks" of operations linked to Russia.
Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian's defense and security editor, said: "There is a very real and intense cyberwar going on out there." He said MI5 has about 3,000 active subjects of interest. Aisha Down, a Guardian global technology reporter, said many hacks happen through edge devices, networked items connected to the internet that lack processing power and are not the main focus of security upgrades. She cited Finland's national cybersecurity center, which received 21,000 reports this year for a population of 6 million, up from 18,000 last year.