The Danish Prime Minister has heavily hinted that Russia could be behind a coordinated drone ‘attack’ that shuttered Copenhagen and Oslo airports for several hours on Monday night.
“Of course, we are not ruling out any possibility as to who is behind it,” Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday, adding that the incident was the “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.”
In a separate news conference, Danish police Chief Superintendent Jens Jespersen said that the attack was carried out by a “capable operator.”
Authorities have been careful not to name a suspect behind the attacks, but were clear that this wasn’t the work of a prankster or lone individual, saying whoever was behind the attack “the capabilities, the will, and the tools to show off in this way.”
Copenhagen Airport grounded all flights for several hours late on Monday evening after 2-3 large drones were spotted flying around the airfield, turning on and off their flights as they approached the airport from different directions.
The drone activity caused significant disruption, with at least 35 flights inbound to Copenhagen forced to divert to alternative airports.
Around the same time, drone activity was also spotted at Oslo Airport, although authorities there were able to continue operating, albeit with delays.
The drone incident comes just days after several European Airports fell victim to a ransomware attack on a third-party software application that runs check-in, baggage handling, and boarding processes.
Brussels Airport was the worst affected by the cyber attack on a piece of software known as MUSE and managed by Collins Aerospace, with 50% of all flights canceled at the airport for two days straight.
There was also significant disruption reported by Berlin Brandenburg and London Heathrow airports.
It remains unclear who was behind the cyberattack or what their motives were, but, again, Russia has been named as the potential perpetrator.
