The United Nations’ civil aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, is investigating reports of a potential data breach following claims that tens of thousands of its records were stolen.
The agency, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, confirmed the investigation in a brief statement issued on Monday.
ICAO stated that the suspected security incident may be linked to “a threat actor known for targeting international organizations.” According to the organization, the investigation was prompted by a claim made on a hacker forum on January 6, alleging that 42,000 records had been stolen. However, ICAO did not provide further details on the nature of the data involved or the scope of the breach, and while the investigation is in its early stages, ICAO emphasized that it could not confirm any specific details about the breach at this time.
The agency, which consists of 193 member states, had previously been targeted in a cyber attack in 2016. In response, ICAO had publicly stated that it had taken significant steps to improve its security measures since then.
The ICAO is working to address the situation, but no further information has been released regarding the breach or its potential impact.
