Emergency alert system easily pwnable after epic ZOMBIE attack prank

900913

Hardware powering the US Emergency Alert System can be easily tricked into broadcasting bogus apocalyptic warnings from afar, say experts.
Researchers at computer security biz IOActive reckon they found private encryption keys within firmware updates for the devices; miscreants armed with this information could successfully remotely log into the hardware, installed at television and radio stations around the US, as an administrator and broadcast panic-inducing messages to the masses.
And the discovery comes just months after shortcomings in the Emergency Alert System (EAS) were exploited to beam news of a zombie apocalypse to American TVs: Montana Television Network’s regular programming was interrupted by warnings of the end of the world back in February.

Viewers of KRTC in Great Falls, Montana, were confronted by an on-air audio warning that "bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living". A scrolling text warning at the top of the screen naming various Montana counties as targets for the spoof announcement of doom, which sparked calls to the state's cops. KRTC promptly disavowed the fake alert and the whole incident thankfully died down before local survivalist types got too excited.
The perpetrators behind the epic undead prank remain unknown. Initial investigations suggested that weak default passwords on emergency alert systems accessible over the internet may have been used to pull off the hack. This remains unconfirmed.




http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/09/us_emergency_alert_system_still_flawed/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7pNAhENBV4&feature=youtu.be

BaconZombie

Wait.... what year is it again?

The Max Headroom "Hijack" was done back in 1987!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqgeM6rWSkw