A hacker group calling itself ‘Leakers’ has claimed responsibility for hacking LED screens in Kluang, Johor, saying the incident was part of a wider operation to expose security weaknesses in digital display systems worldwide.
The group said its attacks had also affected several other countries, including Egypt, Iraq, Brazil and China.
According to news portal The Cairo Report, a representative of the group claimed its members had exploited vulnerabilities in software used to transmit content to LED displays, although advertising billboards were not their intended targets.
The group alleged that the software contained multiple security flaws, some of which could be exploited through its own webpages and interfaces.
It said vulnerable systems were identified through automated scanning, rather than by deliberately selecting particular companies or countries before taking control of the affected displays.
The group further claimed it had discovered thousands of vulnerable systems within just two hours.
Leakers insisted that its activities were aimed at exposing poor security practices, not extorting money or deploying ransomware.
“Companies charge millions of ringgit to build infrastructure across various countries, yet leave LED screens and billboard networks exposed on the internet without even basic protection.
“We are not here to lecture anyone, ask for donations or act like a ransomware group, but to expose these vulnerabilities and prove that anyone can take control of screens across your country in real time.
“Mainstream media love to claim that this is a highly sophisticated, state-sponsored cyberattack. The reality is that your infrastructure is embarrassing, regardless of where you are on the map,” the group reportedly said.
Meanwhile, police have opened two investigation papers following the incident, in which an obscene video was broadcast on an LED screen in Kluang.
Kluang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Bahrin Mohd Noh said police received a report from a 42-year-old man who claimed he had received a WhatsApp message about the incident.
The case is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act and Section 292 of the Penal Code.
Earlier, the Kluang Municipal Council confirmed that its LED display system had been hacked, resulting in the obscene video being shown on the screen.
