Well of course “stuff breaks.”
Is that really the case here? Maybe. Maybe.
We just had a major oil pipeline disaster. We know other industries and banks and various levels of government have suffered successful ransomware attacks, and they are ongoing.
Imagine how that would impact public trust if an airline admits its systems are affected like that. Consider if they can crossover into any of the airports control systems.
Commerce Secretary said last week ransom ware attacks are here to stay.
Is that statement defeatism or a declaration of loyalty?
Yes it is.
No we didn’t have a major pipeline disaster. We had a minor kerfuffle that would have gone by barely noticed if a bunch of idiots hadn’t panic bought.
Ransomware has been going on for the entire 21st century. Annoying but not a big deal.
I don’t think the public trust is any more damaged by “we got hacked” than by “we had a single point of failure”. One way or the other they screwed up. Airport control systems are completely different and still heavily reliant on humans. Cause control towers know better.