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   Hackers Crack Into Texas Road Sign, Warn of Zombies Ahead

   http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484326,00.html

   Thursday, January 29, 2009
   By Joshua Rhett Miller

   
   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."


   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.


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※ 來源: DISP BBS 看板: English 文章連結: http://disp.cc/b/58-tjX
※ 編輯: ott  來自: 118.166.11.41  時間: 2010-08-27 03:56:52