At around 10.45 pm on March 8, the website of Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City couldn't be accessed. There is only one black screen that showed a message from the hackers, claiming that the website was hacked because of love and the hacker wanted to warn the authorities about the lax internet security.
"Dear admin, this is not a joke or a dream, this is reality," the hacker wrote. "We can root and hack the whole server."
The hacker also left an email address for contact. The website returned to normal at 10 am the next day.
On March 9, the website of Rach Gia Airport in Kien Giang Province was hacked. But this time, the hacker only inserted a small image in the corner to introduce himself as Dominic Haxor. After opening the website, a file with virus would be automatically downloaded. As of 7.30 pm, the website couldn't be accessed.
At the same time, the website of Tuy Hoa Airport in Phu Yen Province was attacked. This time, the hacker didn't change the whole website but a sub-page, putting up the name Dominic Haxor. It looks like the hacker who attacked the websites of Rach Gia and Tuy Hoa airports is Vietnamese and claimed to be a member of Anonymous group.
The website of Rach Gia Airport hacked
According to the experts, the hacker had only changed the interface of the websites so it's possible that he hadn't been able to get into the main servers to steal important information.Vo Do Thang, director of the Athena Training and Education Network, said the attack on interface is similar to the attack of Vietnam Airlines' website last year.
"This shows that there are many holes in our security system," he said. "After the attack in last July of Vietnam Airlines, the airport network system and units under the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Public Security have tightened security with more equipment. But the websites of Tan Son Nhat, Rach Gia and Tuy Hoa airports were still attacked."
Last year, a hacker group claimed to be the 1937CN from China carried out several attacks on Vietnamese airports. The screens at the airports’ check-in areas displaying pictures with words insulting Vietnam and Philippines over the East Sea dispute.
The website of Vietnam Airlines was also hacked and the customer database was stolen and published on the internet.
