Canada US airport cyberattack: Hackers hit Canadian & US airports, displaying pro-Hamas messages; authorities regain control, sparking global cybersecurity concerns. Photo: X.
Three Canadian airports and one in the US were reportedly targeted by hackers on Tuesday, raising concerns among travellers as messages praising Hamas and criticising US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on flight information display screens. The affected airports included Kelowna International Airport, British Columbia; Victoria International Airport, British Columbia; Windsor International Airport, Ontario; and Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania, USA.
A spokesperson for Victoria International Airport told Reuters that the hackers displayed messages in a foreign language.
“They hacked into third-party software to access the system, and the airport moved to an internal system to take back control,” the spokesperson said.
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Windsor International Airport confirmed that the breach involved a “cloud-based software provider” and added, “Our systems returned to normal shortly thereafter.” All four airports are relatively smaller feeder airports.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy responded to the incident on X, stating, “This is absolutely unacceptable and understandably scared travelers.”
Visuals of the messages and loudspeaker announcements from the four airports circulated widely on social media, though HT.com could not independently verify their authenticity.
At Harrisburg International Airport, a woman could be heard over the loudspeaker, shouting “Free Palestine” and using expletives directed at Trump and Netanyahu. The voice also claimed, “Turkish hacker Cyber Islam was here.”
In Canada, the attacks primarily targeted flight information display screens. At Kelowna International Airport, a message read: “Israel lost the war, Hamas won the war honorably.”
These incidents add to a series of recent cyberattacks targeting airports globally. Last month, several European airports, including London Heathrow, experienced disruptions due to similar breaches.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), assisted by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, is investigating the attacks on Canadian airports. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airport officials are probing the breach at Harrisburg International Airport.
Also Read: Trump Threatens Hamas: “We Will Kill Them” If Gaza Bloodshed Continues
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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