Hackers Crack Into Texas Road Sign, Warn of Zombies Ahead

[CptSternn]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...0.html?zombies

Transportation officials in Texas are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, "Zombies Ahead."

Chris Lippincott, director of media relations for the Texas Department of Transportation, confirmed that a portable traffic sign at Lamar Boulevard and West 15th Street, near the University of Texas at Austin, was hacked into during the early hours of Jan. 19.

"It was clever, kind of cute, but not what it was intended for," said Lippincott, who saw the sign during his morning commute. "Those signs are deployed for a reason — to improve traffic conditions, let folks know there's a road closure."

"It's sort of amusing, but not at all helpful," he told FOXNews.com.

Tampering with portable road signs is illegal and potentially dangerous to drivers. It is a misdemeanor in Texas, with penalties ranging from fines to potential jail time.

Lippincott said the hacked sign — manufactured by IMAGO — is owned and operated by the city of Austin. Texas Department of Transportation signs have not been affected, he said.

"It is always possible that it could occur, but we attempt to prevent hacking incidents," Lippincott wrote in an e-mail. He declined to comment on security measures to protect the state's signs from hackers.

Austin Public Works spokeswoman Sara Hartley said the incident was not initially reported to police, but will be shortly. The sign was reverted back to its original message within hours, according to Hartley, who insisted the signs are tamper-resistant and equipped with external locks.

"This sign was broken into, it was not just a 'walk up and change the sign' kind of thing," Hartley told FOXNews.com. "This is a new one for us, we've never had it happen before."

She said she did not know whether any other signs in the area had been altered.

According to the blog i-hacked.com, some commercial road signs, including those manufactured by IMAGO's ADDCO division, can be easily altered because their instrument panels are frequently left unlocked and their default passwords are not changed.

"Programming is as simple as scrolling down the menu selection," i-hacked.com reports. "Type whatever you want to display … In all likelihood, the crew will not have changed [the password]."

I-hacked.com warns readers not to try to alter the signs, which cost roughly $15,000.

ADDCO Chief Operating Officer Brian Nicholson told FOXNews.com that the company is sending out notices to customers on the potentially dangerous security flaw.

"It's incumbent upon users to change the default password and secure the sign with a padlock," Nicholson said. "We're having our engineers review this information."

In the meantime, if you're driving in Austin, you can rest assured: There are no zombies ahead.

[CptSternn]

I bet it was a Left 4 Dead fan.

[Tam Li Hua]

Now see, THAT'S awesome! XD XD XD

[Albert Mond]

I think I'm in the future.

[gothicusmaximus]

Is it a sign of total detachment from reality that I would have immediately made a U-Turn?

[girasol]

awesome

[nis~sijai]

I totally want to do that now! (:<

[ThreeEyesOni]

Originally Posted by gothicusmaximus

Is it a sign of total detachment from reality that I would have immediately made a U-Turn?

I would call that a reasonable choice when faced with the possibility of an unreasonable situation. :P

I'd have made sure my doors were well secured and I had enough gas for a quick getaway if need be.

[menus era sota]

i'd whip out my zombie survival handbook.

and yes, so doing this saturday night.



--------------------
and next week for texas, someone changes traffic lights to purple, white and blue.

[Beneath the Shadows]

Could be worse. It could be vampires.

[nis~sijai]

Originally Posted by Beneath the Shadows

Could be worse. It could be vampires.

Could be even worse than that, it could be Stephanie Meyer's "Vampires".

[ThreeEyesOni]

Originally Posted by nis~sijai

Could be even worse than that, it could be Stephanie Meyer's "Vampires".

Could be even worse... the monsters from Feast.

Those things have become my new "worst case scenario" creatures, which was long-held by a Class 4 zombie uprising.

I am so fucking pumped for the World War Z movie. I hope that they get Mark Hamill in it like the audiobook, but I doubt it.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

Originally Posted by nis~sijai

Could be even worse than that, it could be Stephanie Meyer's "Vampires".

Oof. I can't think of anything worse than that... ANYTHING.
Someone had an avatar on here that I really liked. It said "Edward Cullen is a sparkly pansy."

[Mealla]

But what kind of zombies? Shamblers? Runners? Screamers? Head crab zombies? Virus infected? Voodoo hexed? Radiation induced?

[menus era sota]

ooo, head crab. i would freak the fuck out at those.

[Albert Mond]

I'm going to go oldschool and say Voodoo hexed shamblers. But there's a catch. They have ray guns.

[Solumina]

Do they have the capacity to aim or do they just shoot the ray guns randomly?

[Despanan]

That is SO fucking cool.

[Zeade]

That sign was funny. What is even funnier is the website that shows how to do it.

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/274/1/

I've always wanted to change one of those signs, just never did it.