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TV station hacker warns of zombies in Montana

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posted on Feb, 14 2013 @ 01:04 AM
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Someone on my Facebook posted that this same thing happened in Portales, NM. Here's the link: www.lcsun-news.com...

edit on 14-2-2013 by Britster1821 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 14 2013 @ 10:48 PM
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That's kind of funny. I'd almost be willing to bet somebody found out that a few phone numbers for the TV station were sequential and started war-dialing them. (Or did the same on a PBX for a number that accesses phones at the station.) Considering budgets at a small TV station, they'll keep older equipment in use, so the means for accessing the EAS is likely via POTS.

There's also a lot that hackers can still get into with a dial-up modem if they bother, since people don't think to secure older equipment. (That whole security by obscurity thing failing.)

So this hack wouldn't need anything more sophisticated than a bored teenager with some spare time and a phone. Not anything near the level of the "Max Headroom Incident", but mildly entertaining and still fairly harmless.



posted on Feb, 15 2013 @ 12:12 AM
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Updates


So, we can put 1,2,3 and 4 together and say the suspected hacker "has been caught" "overseas" in the "United Kingdom".



The suspected hacker has been caught, according to Cynthia Thompson, station manager and news director at ABC 10 and CW 5 in Marquette. She could not release any further details on the suspect.

www.mlive.com...




'Zombie Alert' Also Aired In Michigan; Hacking Traced To Overseas Source
by MARK MEMMOTT
February 12, 2013 1:53 PM


www.npr.org...



For NMU authorities, the investigation into the hoax had already attained a potential suspect by 10 a.m. Tuesday Feb. 12, according to Smith. It was discovered that the hack had originated overseas, and fixing the vulnerability in the system was fairly easy.

“The origination was the (United Kingdom) and it was a simple fix for us,” said WNMU broadcast operation and IT supervisor Grant Guston. “We know it’s a vulnerability and it’s great that it was a good hacker out there who was trying to expose vulnerabilities like that, so essentially it’s an easy fix to fill that hole for that security issue, but it could have been potentially serious.”

www.thenorthwindonline.com...

But the hacks keep coming and the total is now up to 4 states, FBI in Michigan declined to comment.

So far, people in California Michigan, Montana and New Mexico have heard the warnings about attacking zombies that have been sent over the Emergency Alert System.

www.thespec.com...



posted on Feb, 15 2013 @ 12:27 AM
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This is the video that was uploaded to youtube 4 years ago and it is the same video that was used by the "hackers" who "hacked" Emergency Broadcast Systems in 4 different states on Monday.


Further reading:


The maker of the video, Tyreehot, associated with www.hauntedhotsauce.com, said he had no connection to the Montana hack, though in his YouTube comments admits that it was his voice used in it.

“I created this video four years ago as a Halloween prank. It’s been ‘borrowed’ by many others in the past… if the ‘feds’ can connect me here in Atlanta to a TV station in Montana, then they’re the creative ones,” he said.

Maybe, but here’s how the feds feel about their EAS tones: “No person may transmit or cause to transmit the EAS codes or attention signal, or a recording or simulation thereof, in any circumstance other than in an actual National, State or Local Area emergency or authorized test of the EAS. Any rebroadcast of the EAS tones and attention signal not only would violate FCC rules, but also pose a public danger because rebroadcast of these tones could trigger a false alert from EAS equipment that picks up such a rebroadcast.”

www.tvtechnology.com...

edit on 2/15/2013 by SayonaraJupiter because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 15 2013 @ 11:16 AM
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Originally posted by SayonaraJupiter

Updates


So, we can put 1,2,3 and 4 together and say the suspected hacker "has been caught" "overseas" in the "United Kingdom".



The suspected hacker has been caught, according to Cynthia Thompson, station manager and news director at ABC 10 and CW 5 in Marquette. She could not release any further details on the suspect.

www.mlive.com...




'Zombie Alert' Also Aired In Michigan; Hacking Traced To Overseas Source
by MARK MEMMOTT
February 12, 2013 1:53 PM


www.npr.org...



For NMU authorities, the investigation into the hoax had already attained a potential suspect by 10 a.m. Tuesday Feb. 12, according to Smith. It was discovered that the hack had originated overseas, and fixing the vulnerability in the system was fairly easy.

“The origination was the (United Kingdom) and it was a simple fix for us,” said WNMU broadcast operation and IT supervisor Grant Guston. “We know it’s a vulnerability and it’s great that it was a good hacker out there who was trying to expose vulnerabilities like that, so essentially it’s an easy fix to fill that hole for that security issue, but it could have been potentially serious.”

www.thenorthwindonline.com...

But the hacks keep coming and the total is now up to 4 states, FBI in Michigan declined to comment.

So far, people in California Michigan, Montana and New Mexico have heard the warnings about attacking zombies that have been sent over the Emergency Alert System.

www.thespec.com...




thanks for bringing an update, I've been a bit busy lately and hadn't gone back and checked this story yet. I bet we'll see more copy cat hacks now.



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