Thales Warns of Sixfold Surge in Ransomware Strikes on Aviation Ahead of Paris Air Show

Thales Warns of Sixfold Surge in Ransomware Strikes on Aviation Ahead of Paris Air Show

(IN BRIEF) Thales’s latest report, released just before the Paris Air Show, documents a 600% rise in ransomware attacks on the aviation industry between January 2024 and April 2025. Analysts recorded 27 major incidents by 22 ransomware groups, with 71% involving stolen credentials or unauthorized access. These attacks have shifted from mere flight disruptions to strategic objectives, including industrial espionage, theft of avionics technologies, supply-chain interference and data exfiltration of high-value logistics or diplomatic information. Notable examples feature a pro-Russian denial-of-service attack on an airline and ransomware-induced outages at key air hubs. Ivan Fontarensky of Thales emphasizes the need for a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy leveraging AI and stronger public-private cooperation. The global aviation cybersecurity market is estimated at $5.32 billion in 2025, growing at 8.7% annually to 2029.

(PRESS RELEASE) LA DÉFENSE, 13-Jun-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — A dramatic escalation in cyber intrusions is unsettling the aviation industry, as revealed in Thales’s newest cyberthreat report published ahead of the Paris Air Show (16–22 June 2025). Over the past year, ransomware attacks targeting airlines, airports, navigation networks and their suppliers have surged by 600%. From January 2024 through April 2025, threat analysts logged 27 major incidents carried out by 22 distinct ransomware groups, and 71% of those breaches involved credential theft or unauthorized system access.

Thales’s market intelligence underscores how the sector’s strategic importance—for state sovereignty, economic stability and safe global transport—draws attackers with varied motives: financial fraud, ideological hacktivism and state-backed operations. Beyond disrupting flight schedules, these campaigns increasingly aim for industrial espionage, the theft of avionics and communications technologies, supply-chain sabotage and exfiltration of sensitive cargo manifests or diplomatic travel data.

Illustrative cases include a pro-Russian denial-of-service assault on an airline’s reservation platform and ransomware that crippled maintenance and logistics systems at key air transport hubs. Such events expose systemic weaknesses in a highly interconnected ecosystem where a single vulnerability can cascade into widespread operational paralysis, triggering delays, airspace closures and logistical breakdowns.

“The aviation industry has become a digital battlefield with significant economic and geopolitical interests at stake,” said Ivan Fontarensky, CTO of Cyber Detection and Response at Thales. “The sharp increase in attacks calls for a holistic cybersecurity framework, the adoption of AI-powered defenses and deeper collaboration between industry and government.”

Reflecting this urgency, the global market for aviation cybersecurity solutions is projected to reach $5.32 billion in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 8.7% through 2029, fueled by the sector’s rapid digitalization and the intensifying threat landscape.

The full report is available here.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services addresses several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.

The Group invests more than €4 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum and cloud technologies. Thales has more than 83,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2024, the Group generated sales of €20.6 billion.

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SOURCE: Thales