Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Wednesday 20 december 2017
FBI involved with airport blackout probe; no sign of terror

By JEFF MARTIN The blackout stranded
Associated Press thousands of passengers
ATLANTA (AP) — The FBI is on grounded jets and in
part of the probe into what darkened concourses and
caused a fire that knocked led to the cancellation of
out power to the world’s more than 1,500 flights just
busiest airport in Atlanta, ahead of the frenzied holi-
but an agency spokesman day travel period.
said Tuesday there was no Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
sign of anything connect- International Airport, the
ed to terrorism. main hub for Delta Air Lines,
“There’s no indication at is a crucial cog in the na-
this point of anything nefar- tion’s air travel system. De-
ious,” FBI spokesman Kevin lays there typically ripple
Rowson said. across the nation because
The federal Bureau of Alco- so many U.S. and interna-
hol, Tobacco, Firearms and tional flights are routed
Explosives has also been in- through the Atlanta hub.
volved in the investigation, Because of the magnitude
Georgia Power spokesman of Sunday’s outage, “we
Craig Bell said. want to be able to rule out
“We’re bringing everything any possible scenario that
Zanor McWilliams looks over luggage at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. McWil-
liams said she was stuck on the tarmac for eight hours on Sunday, and returned Monday to try to we have to bear to the wasn’t equipment mal-
collect her luggage. Power was restored at the airport after a massive outage Sunday afternoon situation to make sure this function,” Bell said.
that left planes and passengers stranded for hours, forced airlines to cancel more than 1,100 doesn’t happen again,” “We really don’t expect
flights. Bell said Tuesday. any answers like that to
(Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) No conclusions have been come forth for a few days,”
drawn as to the cause of he said. The power com-
the fire, which took out the pany is working with the
airport’s power supply and airport to explore how to
also its backup electricity prevent the situation from
for about 11 hours Sunday. happening again.

US short of options for North

Korea for serious cyberattack

By MATT PENNINGTON trusion were altogether
KEN THOMAS more serious. Homeland
Associated Press security adviser Tom Bossert
WASHINGTON (AP) — said it was “a reckless at-
The Trump administration tack and it was meant to
vowed Tuesday that North cause havoc and destruc-
Korea would be held ac- tion.” He said it put lives at
countable for a May cyber- risk in British hospitals.
attack that affected 150 Other experts say the at-
countries, but it didn’t say tack was more likely an
how, highlighting the diffi- attempt by Kim’s cash-
culty of punishing a pariah strapped government to
nation already sanctioned extract money. Last year,
to the hilt for its nuclear the same hacking group
weapons program. was suspected in a mal-
The WannaCry ransom- ware attack that penetrat-
ware attack infected ed the Bangladesh Central
hundreds of thousands of Bank’s computer system,
computers worldwide and stealing $81 million.
crippled parts of Britain’s Whatever the motivation,
National Health Service. It the public declaration of
was the highest-profile cy- blame by Washington re-
berattack North Korea has flects growing concern
been blamed for since the over North Korea’s cyber
2014 hack of Sony Pictures capabilities that appear
after it produced “The In- all the more threatening
terview,” a satirical movie because of Pyongyang’s
imagining a CIA plot to kill scant regard for interna-
leader Kim Jong Un. tional norms. In defiance of
While that attack led to world opinion, North Korea
leaks of confidential data is the only country to test
from the movie studio and nuclear weapons this cen-
emails that embarrassed tury and is closing in on a
Sony talent, the implica- missile that could strike any-
tions of the WannaCry in- where on U.S. mainland.q