SpiceJet Ransomware Attack

In May, SpiceJet, India’s second-largest airline, was hit with a ransomware attack that caused flight delays ranging from two to five hours, unavailable online booking systems and inaccessible customer service. While SpiceJet’s IT team was able to thwart the attack before it fully took over, customers and employees still experienced the ramifications.

“The fact that you’re starting to see ransomware shutting down planes, even if it’s just for half a day, it’s a pretty significant thing,” Nachreiner said. “It disrupts schedules. It’s pretty easy for flights from one company being disrupted, starting to cause a chain of disruptions throughout the day for everyone. I mostly included it because of the physical repercussions of not being able to fly for half a day. For all of those customers, SpiceJet planes were grounded for about half the day while they sorted their systems out.”