Canadian airport screens, PA systems hacked with pro-Hamas, anti-Trump messages

Two airports in British Columbia reported that their public address and flight information display systems were compromised by a third party on Tuesday evening, CBC News reports.

Both Kelowna International Airport and Victoria International Airport confirmed the breaches in emailed statements to CBC. Transport Canada is aware of those incidents, as well as a similar one at Windsor International Airport in Ontario.

"Transport Canada is working closely with federal security partners, including law enforcement, to ensure there were no impacts on the safety and security of airport operations and to mitigate disruption from similar incidents in the future," a statement from the agency reads.

Kelowna airport said it is investigating a breach of its systems after reports that pro-Hamas and anti-Trump messages were displayed and broadcast at the airport.

Phillip Elchitz, director of operations and innovation at Kelowna International Airport, told CBC News that a third party gained access to both the airport’s flight information display system and the terminal’s public address system.

READ MORE: Cybercriminal group “Scattered Spider” targeting airlines, warns FBI

He said pro-Hamas and anti-Trump messages were briefly broadcast over the PA system and shown on display screens.

According to Elchitz, the audio system was restored within about 20 seconds, while it took several minutes to remove the images from the screens.

A few flights were delayed at the airport as a result, but things returned to normal on Tuesday night.

A spokesperson for Victoria airport said in an emailed statement to CBC that only the airport’s public address system was affected by a breach.

The loudspeakers, it was explained, operate on a cloud-based external system “used by many airports worldwide.”

According to the spokesperson, an external party uploaded “a file containing unauthorized audio content,” which played over the speakers for several minutes.

The incident did not cause any operational disruptions, delays, or cancellations.

The airport in Windsor, ON, also confirmed it fell victim to an "unauthorized/hacking incident" on Tuesday evening.

Reports indicate that no flights were scheduled to depart from or arrive at the airport when the hack occurred, so only a few people were in the terminal at the time.

Not just Canada

The unauthorized political messages extended beyond Canadian airports. The apparent hackers also targeted Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, CNN reports.

“This is absolutely unacceptable and understandably scared travellers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media, noting the U.S.-based FAA is working with the Harrisburg airport “to help get to the bottom of this hack.” 

The incidents come amid a wave of cyberattacks targeting the aviation industry. 

In June, the FBI reported that a well-known cybercriminal group had infiltrated the computer networks of several airlines in the U.S. and Canada, where WestJet was targeted. 

Just last month, another attack disabled a passenger check-in system, resulting in extensive delays, cancellations, and turmoil across European airports, including London Heathrow.

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