Someone attempted to cause a disruption to an El Al aircraft as it was enroute from Phuket, Thailand, to Israel over night, the Kan public broadcaster said Sunday.

The attempted cyber breach occurred as the plane flew near territories known to be under the influence of Iran-backed Houthi rebels. However, Somalian officials have pointed fingers at the unrecognized state of Somaliland, which has been in the news recently for a contentious agreement with Ethiopia, suggesting its involvement in the cybersecurity incident.

According to the report, the perpetrators tried to issue flight commands that deviated significantly from the planned route, raising suspicions of an attempt to either damage the aircraft or force it into hostile airspace. There was also concern that this could have been an innovative method to hijack the plane remotely.

The flight crew, sensing discrepancies in the instructions received, chose not to comply. They switched to alternative communication methods to verify their course with air traffic control, which confirmed the external attempt to alter the flight path.

Despite the alarming situation, the flight crew managed to land the aircraft safely at its intended destination.

According to a statement from the airline carried by Ynet, El Al says that flights over Somalia have suffered disruptions in their radio connections and have been warned about this by the local government, and that “the disruptions are not aimed at [El Al] planes and it is not a security incident — the disruption did not affect the continuation of the flight.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)