howdy ya'll
01-29-2009, 09:36 PM
kvue.com
Caution! Zombies ahead: Hackers alter road signs in Austin
07:51 AM CST on Thursday, January 29, 2009
By NOELLE NEWTON / KVUE News
AUSTIN, Texas -- You can find the evidence all over the Internet. Dustin Coates and Julie Montgomery were among dozens of people who captured road signs flashing, “Caution: zombies ahead, run for cold climates, the end is near!“ Signs on both sides of Lamar between MLK and 15th were altered some time Sunday.
Jan. 29, 2009 View larger E-mail Clip More Video "This is a first for us. We are new to this kind of thing,” said Sara Hartley, Public Works spokesperson.
Hartley says whoever did this cut the locks to the computer system and hacked in.
"While the content of what it was changed to was amusing to a lot of people we want to make sure that people understand it's a public safety hazard," said Hartley.
Since the signs are not city property, it's up to the owner, Texas Sterling Construction, to report the incident to police. We spoke to the company’s vice-president who says he will most likely not report it since the damage was so minimal.
The city isn't laughing. Hartley says if it would've been one of their signs, whoever did it would be looking at vandalism and tampering with road sign charges which could mean jail time.
"The reason we have those signs out to being with is to assist traffic and the public in being safe when they're out on the road. So when you change a sign you're actually endangering the public on the roadway," said Hartley.
Caution! Zombies ahead: Hackers alter road signs in Austin
07:51 AM CST on Thursday, January 29, 2009
By NOELLE NEWTON / KVUE News
AUSTIN, Texas -- You can find the evidence all over the Internet. Dustin Coates and Julie Montgomery were among dozens of people who captured road signs flashing, “Caution: zombies ahead, run for cold climates, the end is near!“ Signs on both sides of Lamar between MLK and 15th were altered some time Sunday.
Jan. 29, 2009 View larger E-mail Clip More Video "This is a first for us. We are new to this kind of thing,” said Sara Hartley, Public Works spokesperson.
Hartley says whoever did this cut the locks to the computer system and hacked in.
"While the content of what it was changed to was amusing to a lot of people we want to make sure that people understand it's a public safety hazard," said Hartley.
Since the signs are not city property, it's up to the owner, Texas Sterling Construction, to report the incident to police. We spoke to the company’s vice-president who says he will most likely not report it since the damage was so minimal.
The city isn't laughing. Hartley says if it would've been one of their signs, whoever did it would be looking at vandalism and tampering with road sign charges which could mean jail time.
"The reason we have those signs out to being with is to assist traffic and the public in being safe when they're out on the road. So when you change a sign you're actually endangering the public on the roadway," said Hartley.