Japan Airlines Suffers Disruptions in Domestic and International Flights, Possibly Due to Data Breach

• Japan Airlines announced its flight operations and ticket sales were suspended today as a potential cyberattack crippled systems.
• Internal and external network equipment failed, causing severe system malfunctions that have impeded communication and operational processes.
• The company communicated these details and flight delays via its social media accounts.

Japan Airlines (JAL), the second-largest airline in Japan, announced a possible cyberattack on its systems early Thursday morning, triggering disruptions across both domestic and international flight operations. 

The incident, which occurred at 7:24 AM local time (22:24 GMT), targeted the airline's internal and external network equipment, leading to severe system malfunctions that have impeded communication and operational processes.

The airline addressed the situation via a statement posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), confirming the possible security breach. 

"We have been under cyberattack on our internal and external network devices, causing problems with the systems that communicate with external systems. We expect this to affect both domestic and international flights," JAL stated. The airline apologized to affected passengers and assured them that efforts to resolve the issue were underway.  

Nine flights have been delayed due to the system disruptions, and JAL has warned passengers to anticipate further delays or even cancellations. The airline has confirmed that it is collaborating with cybersecurity experts and relevant authorities to identify the scope and nature of this incident.

A recent update announced the preliminary inquiry revealed the motive to be a malfunction that occurred due to sending a large amount of data, with no customer data leaked or cyberattack involved.

Ticket sales for domestic and international flights departing today resumed recently, but the "airport standby service" for domestic departures has been suspended.

JAL joins the ranks of other major companies in Japan targeted by hackers this year, including Toyota and its suppliers, whose operations were disrupted by a cyberattack, and the Japanese video-sharing platform Niconico experienced widespread service outages following a similar attack.