Civil Aviation Authority Issues Maximum Alert at All Airports Across the Country

BD Digest Desk

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has issued the highest alert at all international and domestic airports in the country.

The warning comes in the wake of recent cyber attacks at various international airports, including Heathrow in the UK, Brussels in Belgium, and Berlin in Germany. As part of the security measures, Bebichak has sent 10 specific instructions to all airport authorities in the country.

A responsible official from Bebichak confirmed the matter.

It is learned that the directive, signed by Air Commodore Abu Sayeed Mehboob Khan, Member (Planning and Management) of the Civil Aviation Authority, has been sent to the heads of all airports in the country and senior officials of the organization.

The directive places special emphasis on strengthening cyber security to ensure smooth air transport operations. Officials have been instructed to use strong and complex passwords and not click on suspicious emails or unknown links.

At the same time, it has been asked to keep operating systems, software and antivirus regularly updated, refrain from using pirated software and not install personal apps on official devices. It has also been instructed to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).

The directive further states that any type of cybersecurity risk or incident should be immediately reported to the CAAB-CERT team, IT department, and the National Cyber ​​Incident Response Team.

According to unconfirmed sources, a detailed discussion was held on the risks of cyber attacks and preventive measures at a meeting held at the organization’s head office on September 15.

The meeting was informed that recently, flight operations at several London airports had to be temporarily suspended due to cyber attacks. Learning from that experience, this step has been taken in Bangladesh as a precautionary measure.

The meeting also mentioned that there was a recent cyber attack on the Bebichok website. Following this, the National Cyber ​​Security Agency recommended an urgent cyber risk assessment of Bebichok. As per that recommendation, the matter of quickly appointing an experienced organization to review the cyber security system is currently under consideration.

“Airports around the world are now at high risk of cyber threats. We are preparing in advance so that even if there is any attack or disruption, the country’s air transport operations are not affected,” said a Bebichak official.