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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think British Airways has had a (Russian) cyber attack?

127 replies

Pinotpleasure · 25/02/2022 21:04

I’ve been unable to get onto www.ba.com

I’ve just heard on the radio that the airline’s computer systems are down, Terminal 5 is in chaos and agents are having to manually check passengers in.

Bearing in mind that Aeroflot has been banned from UK airspace (and private planes with Russian owners/passengers also now banned), is it likely that the Russians have made a cyber attack on British Airways?

OP posts:
BeyondPurpleTulips · 25/02/2022 23:13

@Bellie710

Thank god! I was trying to book flights and have new wifi, thought the wifi was just shit!
My wife has been down all evening...
BeyondPurpleTulips · 25/02/2022 23:13

Wi-Fi!!

stimpyyouidiot · 25/02/2022 23:14

It's working for me

Bakewelltart987 · 25/02/2022 23:14

Yes let spread panic and make shit up, no it hasn't been cyber attacked its not the first time it's gone down won't be the last.

WordleDordle · 25/02/2022 23:18

It looks like it's back now.

3luckystars · 25/02/2022 23:20

Sorry at your wife being down.

BeyondPurpleTulips · 25/02/2022 23:33

@3luckystars

Sorry at your wife being down.
She's fast asleep, so it's not even technically an incorrect post Grin
PlanetNormal · 25/02/2022 23:54

@HundredMilesAnHour

BA's IT systems are so notoriously bad that it would honestly be hard to tell the difference between business as usual and a cyber attack.

Their issues all this week have been nothing to do with Russia. Staff cuts, budget cuts, Covid, multiple storms, ground staff (not BA employees) issues...this is what a struggling airline looks like when everything possible has been cut down to the bare minimum and then things so wrong and they have no capacity to deal with it.

100% correct.

I no longer work for BA but I know plenty of people who do. Airlines run on multiple IT systems, all of which have to communicate seamlessly with each other and with airports, ATC, distribution systems etc etc for the operation to function properly.

These systems outages are normal for BA, sadly. Today’s BA is a shadow of its glory days. What was once the World’s Favourite Airline has been hammered by decades of cost cutting, outsourcing and under investment, all in the name of shareholder returns. As anyone who has worked at Waterside or T5 for more than 10 years will confirm.

notimagain · 26/02/2022 00:38

@HundredMilesAnHour

BA's IT systems are so notoriously bad that it would honestly be hard to tell the difference between business as usual and a cyber attack.

Their issues all this week have been nothing to do with Russia. Staff cuts, budget cuts, Covid, multiple storms, ground staff (not BA employees) issues...this is what a struggling airline looks like when everything possible has been cut down to the bare minimum and then things so wrong and they have no capacity to deal with it.

Basically seconded ( or even third’ed ) in view of PlanetNormal’s subsequent comment.

Even on the employee fairly mission critical IT could be flakey and was poorly supported….when I heard the news tonight the last thing that crossed my mind was this was down to a cyber attack.

TrishM80 · 26/02/2022 01:47

Wouldn't be surprised. Russia is a gangster state.

Galena92 · 26/02/2022 03:20

@Itwasgoodwhileitlasted

Dh flying with easyjet tonight (from UK destination to UK destination). Had to take his shoes off for security. That hasn't happened before!
That sounds so strange to me. I live in the states, and have been taking my shoes off at the airport since 2001.
Daenerys77 · 26/02/2022 04:17

@Pantsomime

This wouldn’t surprise me one but, I really hope not but the Russian’s/ cells they allowed to operate there, have been responsible for some of the worst cyber attacks - let’s hope planes don’t start dropping out of the sky, it’s horrendous
Why would planes start dropping out of the sky? It's fuel that keeps them up there, not the internet.
evilharpy · 26/02/2022 04:23

@Itwasgoodwhileitlasted

Dh flying with easyjet tonight (from UK destination to UK destination). Had to take his shoes off for security. That hasn't happened before!
I fly BRS/BHX to BFS and back frequently and have to take my shoes off every time unless I'm wearing sandals. It's been this way for years. My daughter was made to remove a hairband with minnie mouse ears once, she would have been 5 or 6 at the time.
Associatepeggy · 26/02/2022 04:39

This thread is full of just ridiculous scare mongering bullshit. On all fronts.

I have experience as my company were hacked by what was described as Russian Gansters a few years ago. They wanted money. That was it. It was all sorted. Pain in the arse. But we had insurance that covers this sort of thing and it was all sorted. It's not a new thing and it's usuly just for money.

However, given its BA, who have a long history of being shit its far more likely it was just BA being shit. A website being down, doesn't mean it must Russian state sponsored hackers. Its far more likely the website is just down.

Planes are not going to drop put of the sky.

Shoes have been taken off in airports for years, unless they have upgraded scanners where they don't need you to. Even 'normal shoes'.

Not entirely sure what people get out of just posting ridiculous things. I can't work out wether people genuinely believe this stuff or they love getting involved in the drama. Or maybe they just think they are so super clever they have spotted something than no one else has.

But it's really odd.

BusterGonad · 26/02/2022 05:06

May I ask what 'normal shoes' are? I think I've been doing it wrong for years as my unnormal shoes always have to come off, and don't even mention my underwired bra that has to be zapped every single time.

RoseAndRose · 26/02/2022 07:05

BBC report is saying it's not a cyber attack

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60533275

But it's on the part of the front page of their website which is all Ukraine conflict articles

Associatepeggy · 26/02/2022 07:12

@RoseAndRose

BBC report is saying it's not a cyber attack

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60533275

But it's on the part of the front page of their website which is all Ukraine conflict articles

Its in a list of stories

Theres Ukraine above it. Then the BA story is the first of non Ukraine stories.

Their front page is the newest, biggest or most popular news items.

The news items, on the home page, are not all Ukraine conflict items.

AIBU to think British Airways has had a (Russian) cyber attack?
marqueses · 26/02/2022 07:18

@OnTheBoardwalk

I’ve just got on the BT website with no issues
Were they able to help with your flight query

That is indeed service above and beyond Grin

RoseAndRose · 26/02/2022 07:27

*Its in a list of stories

*Theres Ukraine above it. Then the BA story is the first of non Ukraine stories.

Their front page is the newest, biggest or most popular news items.

The news items, on the home page, are not all Ukraine conflict items.

You've linked a screenshot of the app.

I meant website.

The top part of the website (at time of looking - it changes all the time) is a box entirely of Ukraine stories - plus this BA one - with a different colour background.

Plenty of other news stories on the front page, but they are all in the section immediately following (which has different background colour)

LakieLady · 26/02/2022 07:36

@ABitBesotted

I think we can orchestrate our own fuckups perfectly well
Agreed, and applying Occam's Razor makes me think that it is just a classic BA IT fuckup.

Mind you, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they tried to improve cyber-security against possible Russian attacks and fucked everything up in the process.

TheDogsEyebrows · 26/02/2022 07:39

It went down last night + it is back up this morning = not a cyber attack

(An attack would take much longer to recover from)

HundredMilesAnHour · 26/02/2022 07:55

Definitely NOT a cyber-attack:

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/25/flight-cancellations-and-delays-as-tech-issues-hit-british-airways

Teeturtle · 26/02/2022 08:00

@Galena92

That sounds so strange to me. I live in the states and have been taking my shoes off at airports since 2001

We all did for a little while in 2001 but most of the world stopped doing this about twenty years ago. 🙂

notimagain · 26/02/2022 08:09

[quote Teeturtle]@Galena92

That sounds so strange to me. I live in the states and have been taking my shoes off at airports since 2001

We all did for a little while in 2001 but most of the world stopped doing this about twenty years ago. 🙂[/quote]
The Uk most certainly haven’t stopped doing it, security staff at many airports will still ask passengers to remove shoes from time to time. Same does still apply in many other parts of the world.

PAFMO · 26/02/2022 08:12

[quote Teeturtle]@Galena92

That sounds so strange to me. I live in the states and have been taking my shoes off at airports since 2001

We all did for a little while in 2001 but most of the world stopped doing this about twenty years ago. 🙂[/quote]
I must remember to tell the security staff in London, Rome, Bari, Madrid and Brussels that they no longer ask people to do this. They can't have received the memo from MN.