TV station hacker warns of zombies in Montana

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- A Montana television station's regular programming was interrupted by news of a zombie apocalypse.

The Montana Television Network says hackers broke into the Emergency Alert System of Great Falls affiliate KRTV and its CW station Monday.

KRTV says on its website the hackers broadcast that "dead bodies are rising from their graves" in several Montana counties.

The alert claimed the bodies were "attacking the living" and warned people not to "approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous."

The network says there is no emergency and its engineers are investigating.

A call to KRTV was referred to a Montana Television Network executive in Bozeman. Jon Saunders didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Great Falls Tribune reports the hoax alert generated at least four calls to police to see if it was true.

All I can say is

Somebody hacked into a montana television station and brodcasted an alert warning people of a zombie apocalypse. Bodies were rising from the ground, and to not go near them. I have a youtube video that has the alleged emergency alert message.

I wonder if this is anonymous having a little fun, or just some bored person in their mom's basement. But that's pretty insane that somebody could hack into the emergency alert system like that. Somebody might want to get the IT department to look in on it nationally lol.



Source

Screw the zombie message, I want to know if that teen guy passed the lie detector or not?

He looks guilty to me.

Cheater! Cheater!

Originally posted by Hopechest
Screw the zombie message, I want to know if that teen guy passed the lie detector or not?

He looks guilty to me.

Cheater! Cheater!

edit on 11-2-2013 by Hopechest because: (no reason given)

Ha, I was thinking the same thing, lol.. what a show to put the broadcast on..

reply to post by eXia7


Haha, everybody needs to get themselves one of these, I never leave home without it

Ha...pretty crafty. It's good they kept it light hearted though. They could have caused a true panic depending the subject matter. I agree perhaps IT should look into beefing up their EBS security.

Originally posted by UberL33t
Ha...pretty crafty. It's good they kept it light hearted though. They could have caused a true panic depending the subject matter. I agree perhaps IT should look into beefing up their EBS security.

Yeah, imagine if they got into the national broadcast system and did this, but in a more serious manner. It could've been like that War of the World radio broadcast. Maybe the hysteria in this day and age would be worse

reply to post by eXia7


On the one hand...I can see the humor in this.

On the other hand...I think it was wrong of them to jam up the air waves with their nonsense; what if at that same time (they were broadcasting) there had been a real emergency that needed to be reported; and the message couldn't get through because of their nonsense.

I'm just saying.

Originally posted by caladonea
reply to post by eXia7

 

On the one hand...I can see the humor in this.

On the other hand...I think it was wrong of them to jam up the air waves with their nonsense; what if at that same time (they were broadcasting) there had been a real emergency that needed to be reported; and the message couldn't get through because of their nonsense.

I'm just saying.

That's a fair point, and I can agree with it. There is the possibility that this could've hindered a real alert. Hopefully what was learned from this (other than a little humor) is that they should check the security on the system, because apparently it wasn't that hard for somebody to figure it out, or they could've spent months, who knows.

If a simple message like this was broadcast, imagine what a nefarious hacker could pull off. Create propaganda, and spread viral disinfo. I'm not sure if they will find this person, but if they don't, it will further solidify the point that they should work on security.

If i thought for even a second the BBC put there entire archives onto one central server, id be taking a stroll through that ALL THE TIME.

This is awesome, still in the eyes of the empire they are dangerous terrorists who have pretty much just given themselves 20 years in one of the empires federal prisons. Lets hope they are smarter than most.

Good prank.

1. The chances of it exactly timing with a real EA warning is almost unimaginable

2. It shows whoever is responsible for security needs to step up their game.

No harm, no foul

EDIT to add:

3. Whoever is responsible for security is probably not having a good day. So, without further context, we don't know if he/she really deserved that or not. Heck, it might have been a former employee with insight into the system.

Originally posted by eXia7

If a simple message like this was broadcast, imagine what a nefarious hacker could pull off. Create propaganda, and spread viral disinfo. I'm not sure if they will find this person, but if they don't, it will further solidify the point that they should work on security.

That is such a good point that you make; whoever did hack into that (TV emergency system) is obviously very intelligent. I am just wondering what would happen if someone from another country did the same. Would they use hacking into an alert system as a way to cause fear and panic in people; as one tool of control to take over the masses.

Originally posted by caladonea

Originally posted by eXia7

If a simple message like this was broadcast, imagine what a nefarious hacker could pull off. Create propaganda, and spread viral disinfo. I'm not sure if they will find this person, but if they don't, it will further solidify the point that they should work on security.

That is such a good point that you make; whoever did hack into that (TV emergency system) is obviously very intelligent. I am just wondering what would happen if someone from another country did the same. Would they use hacking into an alert system as a way to cause fear and panic in people; as one tool of control to take over the masses.

More or less that is what I was thinking. Places like Iran, China, hell maybe even Russia.. anybody that has advanced knowledge of computers has the ability to wreak havoc, all the while remaining concealed behind the shadows. It's a sign of the times I suppose, technology is getting very advanced, and it's important that people educate themselves about it.

Just as a matter of interest, I find it a little convenient that zombies would attack people. Would their senses even function? You would think that they'd just be shambling around, unable to control their motor skills sufficiently to even walk a straight line. At worst, they'd knock over a display or jaywalk.

haha i'd rush to ATS if something like that popped up on my TV.

fairly certain I could differentiate between a prank and real emergency broadcast though

Originally posted by AfterInfinity
Just as a matter of interest, I find it a little convenient that zombies would attack people. Would their senses even function? You would think that they'd just be shambling around, unable to control their motor skills sufficiently to even walk a straight line. At worst, they'd knock over a display or jaywalk.

Well according to conventional movie theologians zombies are usually hungry for human flesh, so maybe they would be hungry for a snack after they woke up

reply to post by caladonea

Would they use hacking into an alert system as a way to cause fear and panic in people; as one tool of control to take over the masses.

I think FOX and the rest of the propaganda ministries has already got that one covered for you eh?, so no need to worry your pretty little head about that one, and 1...2....3 and sleep, there we go, off we go now.

reply to post by eXia7


too funny

snf

Originally posted by goou111
reply to post by eXia7

 

too funny

snf

Thanks, I figured it would be nice to share a little humor during these frustrating times.

reply to post by eXia7

Well according to conventional movie theologians zombies are usually hungry for human flesh, so maybe they would be hungry for a snack after they woke up

That's because people only stand around and let their enemies power up their badassery in animes. The producers would lose a lot of money if they decided to be realistic and make zombies stumble around blindly. Considering the biological deterioration and the fact that the heart isn't beating suggests the brain is largely inactive, which means the greatest feat a zombie is capable of is tripping over its own feet.

No pulse = no blood = no oxygen = limited synapses = virtually nonexistent senses + superbly hindered motor functions = sluggishly epileptic corpse. Picture a dead man having a lethargic seizure. Extremely limited senses with which to process the environment and extremely limited mobility with which to traverse it, let alone chase down a panicked human with fully functioning anatomy. A living baby has enough difficulty. How the hell is a bodily decomposed man two steps shy of being brain dead supposed to manage?

Yeah. I don't think real-life zombies would be a big threat. But that's just me ruining the anticipation.

Originally posted by caladonea
reply to post by eXia7

 

On the one hand...I can see the humor in this.

On the other hand...I think it was wrong of them to jam up the air waves with their nonsense; what if at that same time (they were broadcasting) there had been a real emergency that needed to be reported; and the message couldn't get through because of their nonsense.

I'm just saying.

Just happened up here on channel 10 from Ishpeming. This was a legitimate emergency broadcast. It was necessary to break the boredom and give people something to talk about at work tomorrow.