Cyber Incident Victim: Chubu Centrair International Airport
Date:
Oct 2015
Location:
Japan
Summary
Anonymous conducted distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting the websites of Chubu Centrair International Airport and another major Japanese airport, disrupting public access for approximately eight hours as part of their #OpKillingBay campaign protesting dolphin hunting and captivity. The attacks overwhelmed the airports' web servers but did not affect flight operations, according to official statements. This action followed similar cyber protests against Japanese entities involved in dolphin slaughter, aligning with the hacktivist group's broader animal rights activism targeting organizations linked to wildlife exploitation.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 9-10, 2015, hacktivist group Anonymous executed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the official websites of Narita International Airport and Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan. The attacks occurred under the banner of #OpKillingBay, a campaign protesting the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. Anonymous publicly announced their intent via Twitter on October 9, explicitly naming both airports as targets. The following day, Narita Airport's website became inaccessible for approximately eight hours. Chubu Centrair's website subsequently experienced an identical eight-hour outage from DDoS bombardment. Both airports confirmed their websites were forcibly taken offline by malicious traffic floods overwhelming server capacity, though flight operations remained unaffected throughout the incidents.
The attacks represented an escalation of Anonymous' #OpKillingBay activities following their September 2015 takedown of Taiji's municipal website. By targeting major transportation hubs, the group amplified visibility for their cause opposing dolphin slaughter and captivity trade. Airport technical teams restored website functionality within the eight-hour disruption window, with both sites operational by October 18 when media reported the incidents. Anonymous framed the disruptions as retaliation against Japan's dolphin hunting practices, continuing their pattern of digital protests against perceived animal rights violations. The group had previously targeted animal abuse forums and explicit content involving animals, establishing a consistent thematic focus across their operations. No data breaches or permanent system damage occurred beyond the temporary service unavailability caused by the volumetric attacks.