January 8th – Over the weekend, Beirut International Airport’s information display screens were hacked by domestic anti-Hezbollah groups.
Where departure and arrival information would ordinarily be listed, a message accused Hezbollah of putting Lebanon at risk of an all-out war with Israel, which the message writers didn’t want.
Beirut International Airport attack
The message on airport monitors read, “Hassan Nasrallah, you will no longer have supporters if you curse Lebanon with a war for which you will bear responsibility and consequences.”
The message likely appeared in the airport due to previous accusations that Hezbollah has smuggled weapons and munitions through Beirut International Airport – the country’s only civilian airport.
Cyber attack details
The message was displayed with logos indicating that the attack was facilitated by a hardline Christian group that calls itself Soldiers of God, in partnership with another group known as The One Who Spoke.
In the aftermath of the event, the former group denied culpability, while the latter group shared photos of the airport screens on its social media channels.
Further information
According to Lebanon’s national news agency, the cyber attack disrupted the baggage inspection system, leading to travel snags. Authorities were working to restore the screens to normal functionality and to maintain normal movement throughout the airport.
As political tensions threaten to spark a broader regional conflagration, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein were dispatched to the region.
“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. “…But the secretary believes it the responsibility of the United States of America to lead diplomatic efforts to tackle those challenges…”
For more information, please click here.
|
Related resources
|