Hackers took control of public address systems at four airports in Canada and the United States on Tuesday to broadcast messages that praised Hamas and criticised US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The coordinated cyber intrusion briefly disrupted operations at airports in British Columbia, Ontario, and Pennsylvania.
Officials said the first reported incident occurred at Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia, where hackers managed to infiltrate an "advertisement streaming service" linked to the airport’s public address network.
"The system was briefly compromised and unauthorised content was shared," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement. The agency confirmed that it is investigating the breach in cooperation with other government bodies but declined to share further details.
At Victoria International Airport, also in British Columbia, hackers broadcast messages and music in a foreign language over the PA system, a spokesperson said to Reuters. The attack reportedly exploited vulnerabilities in third-party software used by the airport’s audio infrastructure.
"Once the breach was identified, we immediately switched to our internal system to regain control," the spokesperson said.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is now working with the RCMP and airport authorities to determine the source of the cyberattack and prevent future incidents.BREACH REPORTED IN THE UNITED STATES
Similar disruptions were reported south of the border at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed in a social media post on Wednesday that the hackers had accessed the airport’s PA system to deliver politically charged messages.
Similar disruptions were reported south of the border at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed in a social media post on Wednesday that the hackers had accessed the airport’s PA system to deliver politically charged messages.
Officials did not disclose what specific messages were broadcast, but several social media videos indicate that they included pro-Hamas statements and criticism of Donald Trump’s policies and leadership.
Hackers at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania aired a message attacking Netanyahu and Trump: "F*** Netanyahu. F*** Trump. Free, free Palestine. Free, free Palestine. Turkish hacker Cyber Islam was here."
A similar cyber intrusion occurred Tuesday evening at Windsor International Airport in Ontario, where hackers hijacked both the public address system and flight information display screens.
In a statement, airport management confirmed that "unauthorised images and announcements" were broadcast to passengers before the system was restored.
"The breach was traced to a cloud-based software provider used by the airport," officials said, adding that normal operations resumed shortly thereafter.
The airport also clarified that there was no evidence of a broader data breach or compromise to its critical infrastructure systems.
All four affected airports -- Kelowna, Victoria, Windsor, and Harrisburg -- are considered regional feeder airports, not major international hubs. For comparison, Kelowna International Airport handled around 2 million passengers in 2024, far fewer than Vancouver International Airport, which saw more than 25 million travellers during the same period.
