Hacker plays ‘Free Palestine’ message at Harrisburg International Airport

A public address system was hacked on Tuesday evening at the Harrisburg International Airport (HIA) in Pennsylvania.

“An unauthorized user gained access to the airport PA system and played an unauthorized recorded message,” HIA officials said in a statement, according to FOX 43.

The message lasted for about 10 minutes, the airport reported. 

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The hacker can be heard saying “Free Palestine” and “F— Netanyahu and Trump” over the speaker, according to videos circulating on social media. 

“Turkish hacker Cyber Islam was here,” says the unauthorized user in an identifying message.

The airport called the announcement a “political message” that did not contain any threats to airlines, passengers or employees, according to HIA. 

A Delta flight that was boarding at the time of the incident was searched out of an abundance of caution, the airline confirmed to Fox News Digital.

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“As the safety and security of our customers and employees comes before all else, Delta followed the direction of TSA to return to the gate and complete a security check of the aircraft. We appreciate our customers’ patience and cooperation,” said a spokesperson in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

The hacker (not pictured) can be heard saying “Free Palestine” and “F— Netanyahu and Trump” over the speaker. (Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The passengers on the flight headed to Atlanta were deplaned as TSA conducted a security sweep, delaying the flight by 45 minutes. 

The public address system was shut off and is under investigation by police. 

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The Harrisburg International Airport was said to be operating normally. 

Fox News Digital reached out to HIA, TSA and the Secret Service for comment. 

Following the incident, a Delta flight was searched out of an abundance of caution. (iStock)

The incident comes after the FBI issued a warning in July about a notorious cybercriminal group dubbed “Scattered Spider” targeting the airline sector, FOX Business reported.

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The FBI posted on X that the group relies on “social engineering techniques, often impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access” and frequently involves methods to bypass multifactor authentication (MFA), such as convincing help desk services to add unauthorized MFA devices to compromised accounts. 

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“They target large corporations and their third-party IT providers, which means anyone in the airline ecosystem, including trusted vendors and contractors, could be at risk,” the FBI wrote.

Fox News Digital’s Daniella Genovese contributed reporting.