Pro-Hamas Messages Displayed After Cyberattacks at Three canadian Airports
TORONTO – Cyberattacks targeted digital display systems at Toronto Pearson, Montreal Trudeau, and Calgary International airports on Tuesday, resulting in the display of pro-Hamas messages and doctored images. The messages, which included images of militants and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were crudely photoshopped around luminous red text.
The incident was claimed by a user on social media, who spent Wednesday celebrating media coverage of the airport disruptions. Authorities have not yet identified the perpetrator or group responsible.
The attacks highlight longstanding concerns about Canada’s vulnerability too cybercrime. Experts have described Canada and its public institutions as a “high-value, low-risk target” for cybercriminals, including state-sponsored actors. A recent forecast from the Canadian Center for Cyber Security indicated that state-sponsored cyberthreat actors are “vrey likely” targeting critical infrastructure networks in Canada and allied countries in planning for potential disruptive attacks. The centre identified China’s cyber program as the most sophisticated and active state threat to Canada currently.
David Shipley, CEO of Beauceron Security, a New Brunswick-based cybersecurity firm, characterized Tuesday’s hack as a “stunt” rather than a serious attack, noting the absence of ransom demands. He also pointed to the perpetrator’s self-promotion on social media as evidence of inexperience. “When you’re victorious, you generally don’t need to self-promote,” shipley said. “It’s like it’s the cyber equivalent of someone running around saying ‘I’m cool’ – the moment that you say you’re cool, you probably aren’t.”
Shipley further criticized the lack of resources allocated to cybersecurity for local police departments and RCMP detachments, stating, ”How is it [okay] in any way, shape or form for a 21st-century country to expect these tiny police forces to have any resources to help the airports in this case? It’s beyond ludicrous and it just highlights we’re not a serious country.”
The incident underscores the growing threat of cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and the need for increased investment in cybersecurity measures.
