Egyptian highway billboard hacked to show porn
Vehicles drive past brightly lit billboards in Cairo
By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN
(CNN) — A billboard stretching across one of Egypt’s biggest highways was hacked on Thursday to broadcast pornographic footage, according to the government and local media.
The advertisement billboard, which sits on the bustling 26th of July Axis in Cairo, made waves on social media as many people stopped their cars and pulled out their phones to record.
Footage shared on social media showed writing on the pornographic video saying, “Leaked by: Ch, 19ylegal never and nivex” and the name of a Telegram channel with the username @LeakersGov.
On Friday, the account posted the message: “Egypt remains under a dictatorship. The government maintains its power through repression, while the country struggles to move forward. Years pass, but nothing changes and people’s lives don’t improve.”
Egypt has functioned under military-led rule since the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.
Egypt’s interior ministry said the screen belonged to an advertising firm that had a contract with an international company.
“The international company’s website was subjected to a cyberattack, which resulted in the unauthorized footage being broadcast,” the ministry said, adding that the breach took place “in several other countries, simultaneously.”
The ministry did not identify the company, nor did it say which other countries were affected. But there are local media reports of sexually explicit footage being broadcast on electronic billboards in Iraq, Malaysia and Brazil.
“Legal proceedings have been initiated,” it said.
Responses on social media were mixed, with many expressing shock while some found the incident funny. Much of Egypt’s society is highly conservative, championing strict moral codes that align with Islamic sharia law.
Local authorities in the region have previously been compelled to switch off electronic advertising boards after pornographic footage was broadcast on the screens.
Egyptian courts have tried blocking pornographic websites, but private online access remains widespread.
In fact, the North African country was among the top 20 countries visiting pornography websites in 2025, according to Pornhub Insights. The United States ranked first.
The-CNN-Wire
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