2013 Emergency Alert System hijackings information
Emergency Alert System hijacking
2013 Emergency Alert System Hijackings
Date
February 11, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-02-11)
Venue
KRTV WKBT-DT WBUP WNMU KENW
Location
United States
Type
Broadcast signal intrusion
Cause
EAS equipment security vulnerabilities.
Perpetrator
Hacker
On February 11, 2013, the Emergency Alert System of five different television stations across the U.S. states of Montana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico were hijacked, interrupting each television broadcast with a Local area emergency message warning viewers of a zombie apocalypse. The message was subsequently declared as a hoax by local authorities and was reported to be a result of hackers gaining access to the Emergency Alert System equipment of various television stations.[1][2][3][4][5]
The first incident took place in Great Falls, Montana, during an afternoon airing of The Steve Wilkos Show on CBS affiliate television station KRTV. The television signal was abruptly interrupted by an audible Local area emergency alert reading "Local authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living". Later the same day the stations of CBS affiliate WKBT-DT, ABC affiliate WBUP, and PBS member station WNMU in Marquette, Michigan, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, respectively, had their Emergency Alert System hijacked, transmitting a similar "Zombie Apocalypse" alert during their primetime programming hours. Not long afterwards, the television broadcasts of PBS affiliate KENW in Portales, New Mexico were also interrupted by the false alert. The hijackers were later apprehended by authorities shortly after the incident.[6][7]
Just two days after the initial hijackings on February 13, 2013, a morning show on WIZM-FM in La Crosse aired an audio recording from the hoax alert, which triggered WKBT-DT's Emergency Alert System once more, relaying the message over the television station's broadcast signals. On February 28, 2017, radio station WZZY in Winchester, Indiana, had their emergency alert equipment hijacked in an almost identical manner using the same "zombie apocalypse" hoax audio message as the one used in the incidents in 2013.[8][9][10]
CBS, ABC, and PBS hardware engineers who investigated the initial incidents reported that the hijackers likely gained access to the Emergency Alert Systems through a variety of weaknesses in the various station's emergency alert equipment, including a vulnerability in the machine's authentication bypass security and the usage of default passwords that were listed on online user manuals.[11][1]
^ abGoodin, Dan (2013-02-14). "Bogus zombie apocalypse warnings undermine US emergency alert system". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^Schwartz, Mathew J. (2013-02-12). "Zombie Alert Hoax: Emergency Broadcast System Hacked". Dark Reading. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^Anders, Melissa (2013-02-13). "Zombie apocalypse now? Michigan TV stations' Emergency Alert Systems hacked with notice of walking dead". mlive. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^"Hackers hijack Montana TV station, broadcast zombie apocalypse warning". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^"Zombie apocalypse newsflash interrupts US TV schedule". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2013-02-12. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^Storm, Darlene (2013-02-12). "Hacker broadcasts emergency zombie apocalypse warning on TV station in Montana". Computerworld. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^"That Time Someone Hacked an Emergency Broadcast System and Warned of the Zombie Apocalypse". Cheezburger. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
^Hubbuch, Chris (2013-02-13). "TV zombie-attack warning a false alarm". La Crosse Tribune. Archived from the original on 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
^"Hacked radio station reports Ind. zombie attack". WCPO 9 Cincinnati. 2017-03-01. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
^"Hackers take over Randolph County radio station's alert system, send out messages about fake zombie attack". Fox 59. 2017-03-01. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
^Goodin, Dan (2022-08-05). ""Huge flaw" threatens US emergency alert system, DHS researcher warns". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
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