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Several flights were delayed at the Kelowna, B.C., airport on Oct. 14 after terminal TVs were hacked to display pro-Hamas messages and the airport’s announcement system blared material praising the group for its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
Hacking incidents were also reported at airports in Victoria, B.C., and Windsor, Ont., the same day.
The apparent hack of Kelowna airport’s public address (PA) system and TV terminals resulted in terminal screens displaying messaging praising Hamas saying, “Israel lost the war, Hamas won the war honorably.” Simultaneously, chants and music in Arabic rang out over the public address system. The messages also contained disparaging remarks about U.S. President Donald Trump.
The screens credited the hack to an entity called Mutariff Siberislam, also known as CyberIslam, online. The materials displayed during the disruption linked to an X account claiming responsibility for a number of such cyberattacks in various countries.
Kelowna International Airport (YLW) said the incident occurred when a third party gained access to flight information display screens and its PA system to display the messages.
“Our team was able to remove the messaging from systems in the terminal building within a matter of minutes. All affected systems were isolated and verified before being restored late last night,” Kelowna airport posted in an Oct. 15 update. “The cyber security incident was limited to a cloud based third party software provider. Airport systems are segregated to protect cyber security incidents from migrating from one network to another.”
The airport added that a “joint threat risk assessment” was conducted in collaboration with the RCMP and Transport Canada, and it was determined that the messaging displayed did not represent “a direct threat towards the travelling public.” A joint investigation into the root cause of the incident is continuing in tandem with Transport Canada and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, the airport added.
Additional incidents were also reported at the Victoria International Airport (YYJ) and Windsor International Airport (YQG). Unauthorized audio messages were broadcast at YYJ, according to a statement from the airport, which didn’t provide details on the content of the messages and said the incident was the result of a “cloud-based software issue.”
YQG President and CEO Mark Galvin confirmed the Windsor airport experienced a takeover of its PA system and terminal TV screens the evening of Oct. 14.
“Our team responded quickly, removed the images and shut off the recorded PA announcement,“ Galvin wrote in an Oct. 15 email to the Epoch Times. ”At the time we did not have any imminently arriving or departing flights, so there were limited persons within the terminal area. We returned to normal shortly thereafter and have been operating without incident.”
Transport Canada said it’s taking measures to prevent similar hacking incidents from occurring in the future.
“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,” Transport Canada spokesperson Sau Sau Liu wrote in an Oct. 15 email to the Epoch Times.
B.C. Conservative MLA Harman Bhangu said the incident showed the need for more robust cybersecurity measures and stronger punishment for those who support terrorist groups.
“Our airport public address and flight screens were hijacked with pro Hamas propaganda—the same group responsible for terror and the murder of innocent people,” Bhangu wrote in an Oct. 15 social media post. “Canada has no place for this kind of hatred or intimidation. We need stronger cybersecurity, real accountability, and zero tolerance for anyone who glorifies terror in any form.”
Former independent MP Kevin Vuong also weighed in on the incident on X Oct. 15, saying it was a “national security threat.”
The PA system and terminal TVs were also hacked on Oct. 14 at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania to broadcast pro-Hamas, anti-Israel messages.
The X account linked to in the messages claimed responsibility for the cyberattacks on Oct. 15.
