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Cyber-attack on Vietnam airport screens with political messages

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CIOL Writers
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The South China Sea dispute between China, the Philippines, and Vietnam seems to be getting uglier by the day. After a court ruling that China's territorial claims are illegal, the fight between China and Vietnam has escalated and apparently led to some impudent cyber-attacks on July 29th.

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Vietnam's state media claims that hackers compromised both the website of Vietnam Airlines and the flight info screens at both the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City international airports.

CIOL Cyber-attack on Vietnam airport screens with political messages

Reportedly, passengers saw messages slamming the Philippines and Vietnam over their South China Sea positions. Not so surprisingly, the government is blaming a Chinese hacker group (1937CN) for the incident.

The incident led airport staff to avoid computer-based check-ins for hours. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's a state-sponsored attack, assuming the details are accurate.

When asked, the Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City told the BBC that this was a "shameless and cowardly" hack that "stained the dignity" of China. However, it's difficult to say for sure that this was strictly the product of overly patriotic citizens. While that sort of private activism has happened in the past, the Chinese government is no stranger to conducting its own hacks and trying to mask their origins.

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