The UK Crime Service (NCA) said Wednesday that a man was arrested in relation to the ransomware attack that has caused delays and disorders at many European airports from the weekend.
The hack, which began on Friday, is targeting check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace, causing delays in Brussels, Berlin and Dublin airports, as well as the London Heathrow, which lasted until yesterday.
While the NCA did not call the arrest, the organization said it was “in its forties” and that it was arrested in the southern county of Western Sussex on Tuesday under the country’s computers’ law “as part of a cyberspace investigation affecting Collins.”
The man was released on conditional guarantees, according to the organization.
“Although this arrest is a positive step, research on this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing,” said Paul Foster, deputy director and head of the NCA National Crime Unit, in a statement.
When TechCrunch arrived, NCA spokesman Richard Crowe said the organization had nothing else to add beyond the press release.
Friday’s Cyberettack saw extensive delays and travel disorders, including boarding passes that fail on departure gates and some flight cancellations, as much of the affected airports and airports had to resort to manual check-ins.
RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies), the defense contractor giant holding Collins Aerospace, confirmed to a legally demanding notice submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that Cyberettack is related to Ransomware.
In The 8-K notice observed by TechCrunchRTX described the incident in cyberspace as “Ransomware participation”, without providing details of the type of ransomware used or hacker criminals behind the violation.
The company said the incident influenced check-in software, which resides “in customer expert networks”.
“Our customers have shifted to back-up or manual processes and have experienced some flight delays and cancellations,” RTX said.
RTX’s confirmation that Ransomware was blaming for the interruption was first unveiled by the European Cybersa Service Enisa on Monday.
An RTX spokesman did not respond to a request for comments.
Updated with new information from the SEC deposit of RTX.
