Hackers have taken control of digital billboards in several countries, replacing ordinary advertisements with pornographic videos and leaving motorists, pedestrians, and authorities scrambling to understand what happened.
The incidents, which occurred on Oct. 29, affected electronic advertising screens in Egypt, Malaysia, and Brazil. A hacking group calling itself Leakers$ has claimed responsibility, saying it exploited weaknesses in software used to remotely manage LED displays.
The group claims it gained access to thousands of exposed systems in approximately two hours, raising concerns about the security of internet-connected infrastructure increasingly found in public spaces.
Motorists stunned as billboards display explicit footage
One of the most prominent incidents occurred along the 26th of July Corridor in Giza, Egypt, a major highway connecting Cairo with its western suburbs.
Instead of advertisements, a large electronic billboard began displaying pornographic footage accompanied by messages identifying the alleged hackers.
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According to an Oct. 30 CNN report, some motorists stopped their vehicles to photograph and record the unusual display. Videos of the incident quickly circulated across social media.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry subsequently confirmed that the billboard had been compromised.
“The international company’s website was subjected to a cyberattack,” the ministry said, explaining that the unauthorized footage also appeared “in several other countries, simultaneously.”
Authorities said the affected screen belonged to advertising operator Al Arabia United, which had contracted an unnamed international company to distribute advertising content electronically.
Similar incidents were reported in Malaysia, where eight digital displays belonging to the Kluang Municipal Council were reportedly compromised.
According to The Star, local authorities received reports that public screens had begun displaying obscene material. Screenshots and videos circulated through WhatsApp before officials disconnected the affected equipment.
“Police view the incident seriously, and a thorough investigation is underway,” Kluang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Bahrin Mohd Noh said.
The municipal council also confirmed it was working with its equipment supplier to identify the cause.
“A comprehensive investigation is being undertaken in collaboration with the screen’s vendor to identify the main cause of the incident,” the council said in a statement reported by Malay Mail.
Meanwhile, in Campo Maior, Brazil, a digital billboard near the BR-343 highway displayed similar explicit content.
Local advertising company Ferreira & Ferreira confirmed that its equipment had been targeted in a cyberattack. According to the Portal de Campo Maior, the company immediately disconnected the display, filed a police report, and apologized to motorists, pedestrians, and advertisers.
Although the incidents occurred on the same day, investigators have not independently established that every affected display was compromised through the same vulnerability.
Hackers claim security was so weak that almost anyone could break in
The hacking group Leakers$ has claimed responsibility for the incidents, describing the attacks as an effort to expose inadequate cybersecurity protections in commercial advertising networks.
In an Oct. 29 interview with The Cairo Report, an individual claiming to represent the group said the hackers had targeted the software responsible for transmitting advertising content rather than physically accessing individual billboards.
“It was a genuine vulnerability in the software responsible for transmitting content to LED displays,” the representative said.
The group claimed that automated scanning allowed its members to identify thousands of internet-accessible systems within approximately two hours.
The alleged vulnerability provided access to advertising infrastructure in multiple countries, according to the hackers, who also claimed to have accessed systems in Iraq and China.
Those additional claims have not been independently substantiated.
“It wasn’t nearly as complex an operation as many might imagine,” the representative told The Cairo Report.
The group was even more dismissive of the technical challenge in statements highlighted by TechSpot, claiming that “anyone with two brain cells” could have conducted the attack.
However, the hackers have not provided sufficient technical evidence to establish precisely how the systems were compromised.
The incidents illustrate a growing cybersecurity problem involving the Internet of Things (IoT), a broad category of everyday devices and infrastructure connected to computer networks.
Modern digital billboards can be managed remotely, allowing advertising companies to change advertisements, update schedules, and monitor equipment without physically visiting each installation.
That convenience can also introduce security vulnerabilities.
In a Nov. 3 analysis, cybersecurity company Malwarebytes explained that remotely accessible management systems can allow attackers to target entire advertising networks rather than individual screens.
If attackers compromise the software distributing advertisements, they may gain the ability to replace legitimate content across multiple displays.
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America has previously warned operators about these risks.
Its digital billboard security guidelines recommend replacing default passwords, restricting access to management systems, enabling multifactor authentication, and applying security updates.
The Oct. 29 incidents demonstrate how failures to secure connected infrastructure can produce highly visible consequences.
While this particular intrusion resulted in embarrassing public displays, the same weaknesses could potentially allow attackers to distribute fraudulent messages, political propaganda, or other malicious content.
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