• United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization investigating possible attack
• Tens of thousands of records may have been stolen, in report relating to a claim made on a hacker forum on January 6
• ICAO was previously targeted by a hack in 2016

The United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), responsible for setting civilian air travel standards, is reportedly investigating a “potential security incident”, following an apparent claim made on a hacker forum on January 6, 2025.

Though this is a developing story, the Canada-based ICAO published a short statement on its website (via Reuters) claiming the breach is “allegedly linked to a threat actor known for targeting international organizations”.

It also said it had implemented “immediate security measures” while the investigation is ongoing.

ICAO potential data breach

In an email statement to Reuters, the agency said the threat actor in question had stolen 42,000 records from its servers, but “at this early stage of our investigation, we cannot provide additional details about the incident or confirm specific claims about the data potentially involved.”

While we await those further details, it’s worth noting the ICAO had, in 2016, been the victim of another data breach which exposed employee data and information pertaining to affiliated organizations.

The perpetrators in this attack were Panda Emissary, a China-affiliated hacker collective, and it’s unclear if ICAO have been targeted by the same collective this time around, or if the attack can be attributed to a state-backed actor at all.

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