WASHINGTON D.C.: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced, after several U.S. airport websites were hit by coordinated denial-of-service attacks earlier this week, that it now plans to issue new cybersecurity requirements for some key aviation systems.

The TSA said this week's cyberattacks, which were allegedly organized by pro-Russian hackers, "did not disrupt airport operations or access to information."

It added that it previously "updated its aviation security programs to require airport and airline operators designate a cybersecurity coordinator and report cybersecurity incidents, conduct a cybersecurity assessment, and develop remediation measures and incident response plans."

It also plans to "soon issue additional performance-based cybersecurity requirements for critical aviation systems," it added.

In a notice last month to airports, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said as a condition for attaining airport terminal grants, they must prove their efforts "to consider and address physical and cyber security risks relevant to the transportation mode and type and scale of the project."

"Projects that have not appropriately considered and addressed physical and cyber security and resilience will be required to do so before receiving funds for construction," the FAA added.

A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2020 said the FAA should fully implement key practices to address cybersecurity risks.

"Modern airplanes are equipped with networks and systems that share data with the pilots, passengers, maintenance crews, other aircraft, and air-traffic controllers, and if not properly protected could be at risk of a variety of potential cyberattacks," the GAO noted.

In 2020, the GAO said that there were no reports of successful cyberattacks on the avionics systems of aircraft.