Amid all the warnings that cyber attackers will eventually hack commercial airlines, hijacking and compromising planes and causing other dire results, hackers staged a more traditional assault on Ryanair, stealing nearly $5 million from the budget airline's business bank account.
The funds, believed to be in the account that the budget airline uses to purchase fuel for its planes, were reportedly transferred electronically to a bank in China.
“The airline has been working with its banks and the relevant authorities and understands that the funds – less than $5 million – have now been frozen,” Ryanair said in a statement, according to The Guardian. “The airline expects these funds to be repaid shortly, and has taken steps to ensure that this type of transfer cannot recur.”
The airline has asked the Criminal Assets Bureau in Dublin to aid in the recovery of the funds, The Guardian said.
