Ukraine‘s defense intelligence agency claims to have successfully hacked into Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, also known as Rosaviatsia.
As a result of the cyberattack, the Ukrainian agency has obtained a “large volume of confidential documents,” including a list of daily reports from Rosaviatsia spanning more than a year and a half.
“The data obtained as a result of hacking and penetration of enemy information systems includes a list of daily reports of Rosaviatsiya for the entire Russian Federation for more than a year and a half,” reads the announcement.
“Their analysis shows that the civil aviation sector of terrorist Russia is on the verge of collapse.”
Ukraine says the analysis of the allegedly stolen documents produced the following highlights:
- In January 2023, Russian civil aviation reported 185 accidents, a third being significant incidents, with the Sukhoi Superjet experiencing 34 emergencies.
- Russian aircraft malfunctions tripled from 50 in the first nine months of 2022 to 150 in the same period in 2023.
- Critical issues in Russian aviation include engines, landing gear, hydraulics, flaps, and software.
- Russia, facing maintenance challenges, is outsourcing to Iran, where work is often uncertified.
- By mid-2023, 70% of Russia’s 820 foreign-made civilian aircraft underwent uncertified maintenance using non-authentic parts, up from 10% in March 2022.
- Russia resorts to “aviation cannibalism,” dismantling some aircraft for parts, affecting over 35% of its fleet by mid-2023.
- Most Soviet An-2 aircraft were grounded due to a halt in Polish engine supplies.
- In January 2023, Russia’s 220 Airbus planes experienced 19 failures, including 17 smoke incidents in Aeroflot’s fleet.
- Russia’s 230 Boeing aircraft had 33 technical failures across various systems.
- Every seventh Embraer in Russia’s 21-strong fleet failed under local operating conditions.
“An analysis of the character of aviation incidents from the documents obtained indicates that a number of failures, especially those related to engines, landing gear, and wing mechanics, are of a systemic type.” – Ukrainian government.
The Ukrainian agency’s cyberattack is a significant escalation in the ongoing cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia. It is also the first time that Ukraine has publicly claimed to have hacked into such a high-profile Russian government agency.
