A cyberattack struck on the evening of September 19, 2025, targeting Collins Aerospace—a U.S.-based provider of check-in and boarding systems used by multiple airlines across global airports. This incident disrupted automated passenger processing at several major European hubs, forcing a switch to manual procedures and resulting in widespread flight delays and cancellations on September 20. The attack’s scope highlights vulnerabilities in centralized aviation tech providers, with no immediate claim of responsibility reported. What is your most up-to-date and in depth assessment?
Cybro-100, Digital Warfare Specialist:
Here is my most up-to-date, in-depth assessment of the recent cyberattack on Collins Aerospace, its implications, likely attribution vectors, risk landscape, and what this says about the current state of cyber‐warfare and infrastructure security. If you want, I can also lay out mitigation options and what governments/airlines should do next.
What we know so far
Based on reporting (Reuters, AP, etc.):
- On or during the night of 19 September 2025, Collins Aerospace — which provides check-in & boarding systems to multiple airlines / airports via its MUSE software (Multi-User System Environment) — experienced a “cyber‐related disruption” at “select airports” in Europe. AP News+2Reuters+2
- Major airports affected include London Heathrow, Brussels, Berlin Brandenburg. Some airports (e.g. some in Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich) report no impact. AP News+2Reuters+2
- The disruption impaired automated check-in, boarding, self-service kiosks, and baggage drop systems. Electronic customer check-in and baggage drop were particularly impacted. AP News+1
- Airports moved to manual check-in / manual procedures as mitigation. Longer wait times, delays, cancellations. AP News+1
- Collins/RTX has said they are “working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality” and that manual processing can somewhat mitigate. AP News+1
- No publicly confirmed claim of responsibility at this time. AP News+2Reuters+2
What is not yet clear / what is being inferred
- Attack vector is not established publicly: whether this was ransomware, malware, supply chain compromise, misconfiguration, zero-day, insider threat, etc.
- Whether any data exfiltration or integrity compromise has occurred (beyond the operational disruption).
- Whether the attacker(s) intended this as a prelude to larger attack (e.g., on aviation safety, control systems) or purely disruption.
- The scale: It appears limited to some airports and systems (check-in / boarding), not affecting air traffic control or navigation, but operational impact is high.
Strategic & Tactical Implications
This incident reveals several features about modern cyber threats, the aviation sector’s vulnerabilities, and the strategic risk picture.
- Centralization & supply-chain risk
The fact that one provider (Collins) serves many airports globally means that a compromise at the provider propagates widely. This amplifies risk: the more “shared” infrastructure in aviation, the larger the blast radius of a successful attack. Centralization makes for efficiency, but also a tempting & high-value target. - Operational vs Safety impact
So far, it seems operational: delays, cancellations, manual fallback. Passengers inconvenienced. But if similar attacks target safety-critical systems (e.g. air traffic control, navigation, security screening systems), then the stakes are much higher. Also, even delays and cancellations have significant economic, reputational, and cascading logistic costs. - Possible motives & actors
While no claim of responsibility yet, typical suspect classes:- Commercial cybercriminals / ransomware gangs wanting disruption + ransom.
- State-sponsored actors for political signaling, asymmetric disruption, or probing of critical infrastructure. Aviation is a high-visibility target.
- Hacktivists or ideological actors, though it’s less consistent with a disruption of this scale unless tied to political events.
- Resilience of fallback procedures
The manual fallback was possible, but costly. It indicates that airports do still have contingency plans, but these are not scalable for prolonged outages of digital systems. Queues, delays, cancellations — all very real. The more air travel depends on automation, the more important resilient design. - Potential blowback and escalation
If this turns out to be state-linked, it is part of a pattern: targeting civilian infrastructure to pressure governments without crossing into kinetic conflict. But even “only operational disruption” can lead to escalation if frequent. Governments will increasingly see these as national security issues. - Regulatory angle
Likely regulatory scrutiny will follow. European aviation authorities, cybersecurity agencies will demand higher assurance, audits, SLAs for providers. Possible obligations to report quickly, share threat intelligence. Insurance implications for providers like Collins/RTX.
Likely Scenarios / Attribution Hypotheses
I’ll lay out a few plausible hypotheses, with what evidence we might see.
| Hypothesis | Rationale | What evidence would support it |
|---|---|---|
| Ransomware / criminal extortion | Many recent attacks on infrastructure are financially motivated. Disrupting service gives leverage. Disruption to business partners can pressure victim to pay. | Detection of extortion demands; leaks on dark web; financial transactions; ransomware signatures; forensic traces e.g. similar to known criminal groups; ransom note. |
| State-sponsored probing / sabotage | Aviation infrastructure is attractive: symbolic, high visibility. Could be part of geopolitical pressure. Also, targeting U.S.-based provider may implicate international jurisdiction concerns. | Indicators of sophisticated tools; zero days; code signing misuse; coordinated activities; communications chatter; involvement of nation state actor signatures; possibly later demands or political messaging. |
| Insider error / supply chain compromise | Sometimes “cyber-related disruptions” echo configuration errors, failed patches, internal mismanagement. Attackers may piggyback through third parties. | Internal logs, vulnerability exploits, supply chain investigations; correlation with recent updates; third party / contractor compromise. |
| Automated malware / worm / accidental activation | Possibly a bug or unintended malware spread, not deliberate attacker. Less likely given description, but always possible. | Absence of malicious code; logs showing non-targeted spread; no extortion or data leakage; prompt internal patch or rollback. |
Broader Geopolitical & Strategic Context
- Europe has been increasing its concern over attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, banking, transport) — this fits into a pattern of cross-border cyberattacks causing civil disruption.
- The U.S. provider being affected ties this to U.S./Western infrastructure, which increases likelihood of attribution pressure or diplomatic response.
- Cyber deterrence is still murky at this level: what thresholds provoke response? If an attack causes flight cancellations, but no safety or lives lost, will states respond strongly? Probably limited. But reputational, financial, regulatory costs rise.
- This type of attack is cheaper, lower risk than kinetic action for many actors. It allows scaling of pressure without overt war.
Risks & Consequences
- Short-term: flight delays, cancellation ripple effects, economic losses (airports, airlines, staff, passengers), reputational damage for Collins/RTX, increased passenger anxiety.
- Medium-term: increased costs for redundancy, cybersecurity insurance, potential regulatory penalties; possibly legal liability; increased scrutiny from national security agencies.
- Long-term: possible erosion of trust in automated systems; push for decoupled, localized systems; possibly shift in procurement towards providers that can demonstrate stronger cyber resilience; geopolitical competition over technology supply chains in aviation.
My Assessment: Most Likely Scenario
Given the information, my current best guess is:
- It’s a deliberate cyberattack, likely by a criminal actor or group (could be ransomware or similar), targeting Collins Aerospace’s MUSE system. The goal is disruption — perhaps also ransom, though none announced yet.
- It may exploit a vulnerability in software or an interface used by the check-in/self service kiosks / baggage drop. Could be misconfiguration, unpatched software, or a zero-day, but likely within the typical exploitation patterns (e.g. remote code execution, supply chain compromise).
- The lack of immediate claim of responsibility suggests either a non-public actor, or a victim still assessing damage. Sometimes attackers delay public statements to gain leverage or understand what they have.
- The attacker likely did not gain control over more sensitive systems (air traffic control, navigation, etc.), or else we’d see greater chaos. Possibly limited to the passenger handling domain.
Strategic Implications & What Should Be Done
To reduce risk, these steps seem necessary:
- Incident responders / forensic investigation
- Collins/RTX needs to conduct thorough forensics: logs, memory dump, network traffic, intrusion detection artifacts.
- See if any data exfiltration, ransomware installed, persistence, etc.
- Containment & recovery
- Restore backups, patch systems, rebuild compromised servers/kiosks.
- Audit the MUSE software and its interfaces.
- Notification & transparency
- Airlines, airports, regulators should be kept informed.
- If personal data or safety data is involved, privacy breach laws may require notification.
- Regulatory / policy responses
- Strengthen cybersecurity requirements for aviation service providers (critical infrastructure).
- Governments may require risk assessments and certifications.
- Redundancy & fallback planning
- Airports need robust manual fallback plans.
- Possibly consider dual systems or independent backup systems.
- International cooperation
- Cross‐border sharing of threat intel because this is multi-national infrastructure.
- Possibly invoke diplomatic or law enforcement cooperation if evidence of state involvement.
What to Watch For
Going forward, some indicators to track that will clarify the picture:
- Any ransom demand or statement from a known group.
- Forensic details: what vulnerability was exploited, and whether attackers moved laterally.
- If data was stolen (e.g. PII of passengers or airline personnel), or plans for further attacks.
- Whether similar disruptions appear at other providers or in other regions – indicating wider campaign.
- How quickly Collins/RTX restore services, and whether patches or architecture changes follow.
If you want, I can run through potential attribution (which states / groups are most likely), and risk scenarios if the compromise spreads to more sensitive aviation systems. Do you want that deeper dive?
Cybro-100, Digital Warfare Specialist
Three Corporate