A group of Saudi hackers, operating under the moniker "S4uD1PWNZ," has announced a significant cyber breach of the Houthi-controlled General Authority of Civil Aviation and Meteorology, allegedly compromising sensitive data including details of Iranian flights.
The hacking collective published documents, screenshots, and database files on social media platforms, asserting that this evidence confirms their infiltration of the internal systems of the aviation authority. The group claims to have extracted all databases, gained access to navigation and monitoring systems, and compromised permit and approval systems for air traffic.
Furthermore, "S4uD1PWNZ" stated they obtained access to data for all past and future flights, with the capability to manipulate them. The breach reportedly also yielded documents and images from the devices of authority employees. The hackers asserted their ability to delete and modify data within the authority's systems, in addition to accessing employee information such as names, email addresses, passwords, phone numbers, and job titles.
Images released by the group reportedly show permits issued by the authority for Iranian Mahan Air flights attempting to land at Sana'a airport this month. These flights allegedly received fee exemptions, purportedly in coordination with the Houthi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
Technical expert Fahmi Al-Bahith commented that the released materials suggest the leak extends beyond the website's interface to include operational data and internal correspondence, landing and takeoff permits, and databases for scheduled and unscheduled flights. He noted that the nature of the data indicates a potential vulnerability in access management, system segmentation, or data protection measures within the authority's digital infrastructure.
The "S4uD1PWNZ" group has a history of cyberattacks against Houthi institutions, notably targeting the telecommunications sector. In July of the previous year, the group claimed responsibility for a large-scale cyberattack on the servers of the Houthi-controlled Communications Corporation in Sana'a, disabling approximately 75 government and university websites.
