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A man in his forties has been arrested in West Sussex in connection with a cyber-attack that disrupted operations at multiple European airports, including Heathrow. The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed the arrest as part of an investigation into a cyber incident affecting Collins Aerospace. The attack caused widespread failures in Collins Aerospace’s baggage and check-in software, leading to hundreds of flight delays and forcing some airlines to board passengers using pen and paper.
"Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing," said Paul Foster, head of the NCA's national cyber crime unit.
The man was arrested on Tuesday evening on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences and has been released on bail.
An internal memo was sent to airport staff at Heathrow about the difficulties software provider Collins Aerospace is having bringing their check-in software back online. The US company appears to be rebuilding the system again after trying to relaunch it on Monday.
Collins Aerospace's parent company RTX Corporation said it appreciated the NCA's "ongoing assistance in this matter".
The US firm has not put a timeline on when it will be ready and is urging ground handlers and airlines to plan for at least another week of using manual workarounds. At Heathrow, extra staff have been deployed in terminals to help passengers and check-in operators but flights are still experiencing delays.
On Monday, the EU's cyber-security agency said ransomware had been deployed in the attack.
These types of attacks are an issue for organisations around the country, with organised cyber-crime gangs earning hundreds of millions of pounds from ransoms every year.
The attack against US software maker Collins Aerospace was discovered on Friday night and resulted in disruption across many European airports, including in Brussels, Dublin and Berlin.
Flights were cancelled and delayed throughout the weekend, with some airports still experiencing effects of the delays into this week.
