
Hacker finds way to (re)use Emergency Broadcast System - jdavid
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8431845
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tallanvor
I don't think it would be as easy as the "hacker" claims. It's been close to
10 years since I worked in radio, but the EAS system was one area I had
responsibility for. There are a number of radio stations that are designated
as primary stations, and the alerts would start with them, and no single
station can trigger the alert across the country. You might get a signal to
propagate across a few states, which, while bad, isn't quite as big of a deal
as they make out.

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dsl
I second this.

It may seems odd to "hackers" that the system is so simple, lacking
encryption, authentication, or human checks and balances, but thats kind of
the whole point. If it actually needs to be activated, nobody is going to be
around to press the big red button or verify encryption keys. They will all be
home evacuating their families.

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curiouskat
Anyone else get the feeling that all of this "hacker" stuff in the media is
serving to raise the profile of "hackers" and position them as the new
"terrorists" in an effort to create an environment of fear that will lead to
support for upcoming Internet regulations?

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jonhendry
Maybe if "hackers" started showing a little judgement and self-control, and
stopped acting like a Penn State coach on a grade school playground.

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joezydeco
Thank god he wore the official t-shirt for the interview.

~~~
pavel_lishin
How else would the people watching know that he's a hacker? I mean, he doesn't
have a six-monitor setup with a spinning rubik's cube compiling a hydra, he's
not wearing 3D goggles, and they didn't have to go past his mom into a
basement.

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libria
With a text writeup:
[http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=8...](http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=8431876&pt=print)

~~~
bshep
And a youtube link to the DefCon talk mentioned in the article:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmkTkWB40Q>

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peterwwillis
Here is the code in the video:

[http://anonymous-lulzsec.com/entries/encoders/same_enc-
same_...](http://anonymous-lulzsec.com/entries/encoders/same_enc-same_enc-c)

<http://pastebin.com/gT7qErZF>

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VonLipwig
Any code that starts with a long quote from V for Vendetta is not worth my
time.

I think anyone thinking about attempting this should read the story about the
boy who cried wolf. If anything you reduce trust in the emergency broadcast
system. This would be very bad, especially if a genuine emergency shortly
followed a B.S. hacker broadcast

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jdavid
I also wonder with #spacepunk tech brewing if it's possible to actually
overpower a satellites signal. There is someone on kickstarter working on low
earth orbit satellites that would stay in orbit for 2 weeks.

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icebraining
As far as I know, all rockets are heavily regulated by the FAA, including have
representatives at launch. I'd be willing to bet that an unauthorized launch
wouldn't last very long.

~~~
gwern
Sure, but what are they going to do about it once it's up there?

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adamgray
The US, Russia, and China all have proven anti-satellite weapon systems. IIRC
they are very similar to missiles designed to intercept ICBMs.

~~~
gwern
It would have to be a very irritating satellite indeed to justify the
expenditure of hundreds of millions and loss of secrecy to those programs
involved in shooting down a random satellite.

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pavel_lishin
Jake? Or Jack? <http://i.imgur.com/ITCwN.jpg>

