Hackers send out TV Station's Bogus Emergency Alert System Message about Zombies
Marquette, Michigan to broadcast an emergency alert that zombies have risen from their graves in several counties in Montana and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Stations KRTV of Great Falls, Montana, and WBUP and WNMU-TV of Marquette, Michigan broadcasted alerts during programming to broadcast the false alerts. It was determined that a number of stations installed station equipment without firewall or security protection, and further neglected to change default factory logins or passwords, opting to use factory presets instead. Because of this, the FCC, FEMA, equipment manufacturers, as well as trade groups, including the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, urged broadcasters to change their passwords and to recheck their security measures. Two days later, WIZM-FM in La Crosse, Wisconsin inadvertently triggered the EAS on WKBT-DT by playing a recording of the fake alert during its morning show.No suspects have been identified in this hacking. This broadcast reportedly caused little to no panic, as many were quick to realize it was a hoax. This was further amplified when people realized that some of the phrasing used in the alert was taken directly from the song "Fight 'Em Till You Can't" by the band Anthrax.
On February 28, 2017, WZZY in Winchester, Indiana was also hacked, when hackers accessed the station's SAGE ENDEC EAS equipment and played the same "zombies and dead bodies" audio from the February 11, 2013 incidents (likely meaning WZZY had the same EAS equipment affecting the 2013 stations, and had failed to change the password on the equipment or secure it). The incident prompted a public response from the Randolph County Sheriff's Department clarifying that the station's "alerting equipment had been hacked" and there was no actual emergency.
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE WASHINGTON WAVE BROADBAND EAS HACK. 2-20-2020 - 2-21-2020
An EAS Screen saying "AIGHT IM DONE U CAN REST NOW. MR GERDE WAS HERE."
an EAS Screen with the message of "SUB TO VINESAUCE twitch.tv/vinesauce"
On February 20 and February 21, 2020, Wave Broadband's EASyCAP equipment was hacked due to the equipment's default password not being changed. Four alerts were broadcasted, two of which consisted of a Radiological Hazard Warning and a Required Monthly Test playing parts of the hip hop song Hot by artist Young Thug. On the second alert, which had the event type as Required Monthly Test, the text at the top of the screen (which normally displays "Emergency Alert System") was changed to "CHANGE UR PASSWORDS PEPEGA CLAP", which is in reference to the Pepega Emote that's commonly used on social platforms (e.g. twitch.tv). The third alert had the top text "SUB TO VINESAUCE ON TWITCH twitch.tv/vinesauce" and played the highly viral song 4 DA TRAP by artist 645AR. The fourth alert, displayed on March 2, had the top text "AIGHT IM DONE U CAN REST NOW. MR GERDE WAS HERE." informing viewers and the provider that the hacker was finished transmitting alerts. The event type was marked as a legitimate Required Monthly Test, according to Wave Broadband, saying "The EAS alert on March 2 was legitimate but had a residual message from the previous Feb. 20 event. We noticed the residual message on March 2 and changed the slate immediately."[1]
These kinds of pranks are HIGHLY ILLEGAL and if you get caught, you will face prison time and, most likely, a hefty fine. As a wise person once said, don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
