RTV Noord has fallen victim to a cyberattack that has disrupted both its broadcasts and online platforms. The incident has caused major technical issues across radio, television, and digital services. Engineers are working to restore normal operations, but it’s not yet clear how long recovery will take.
The attack was first noticed early Thursday morning by the crew of De Ochtendploeg, RTV Noord’s morning radio show.
“Suddenly, our systems stopped working,” said news editor Cunera van Selm. “We had to go back to basics—playing records manually on the turntable just to stay on air.”
Broadcasts continue despite setbacks
Throughout the day, staff worked nonstop to keep Radio and TV Noord running. Thanks to those efforts, both services are still broadcasting, and the station’s role as an emergency broadcaster remains active.
Tonight’s episode of Noord Vandaag will also air on TV Noord, though it had to be recorded through a workaround setup.
Website and app mostly offline
The broadcaster’s website and app have also been hit hard. Regular news updates are on hold, and only critical stories can be published using temporary methods. Live streams remain unavailable for now, and social media posts are limited as the team focuses on recovery.
Hackers left a message
Hackers reportedly left a message inside RTV Noord’s systems, but the company has not shared what it says. External cybersecurity specialists are assisting the technical team in investigating and restoring access.
According to van Selm, the police have not yet been called in. “Right now, our priority is to get everything working again,” she said. “Once we’re back on our feet, we’ll look into how this happened and who might be behind it.”
