Accidental Emergency Alert - WSOC-TV's statement on emergency alert that aired on WSOC-TV, TV64

originally posted by: dianajune

originally posted by: ausername
I feel kinda out of touch now, after reading more I must admit, I did not know they could change the channel on your tv.

They might be able to change your channel, but you could always turn it off!

I like the way you think poster. We should all keep a watchful eye and if something in the near future does happen and this system is used.......I will remember this thread.

This aired on the news tonight:Passengers recount security scare on board US Airways flight at Charlotte Douglas

"The pilot came on the intercom an hour into the flight and said we have a little problem here, we need you to sit in your seats. That escalated to an hour later, we have a very serious problem."......... "They [FBI] pulled nine people off the plane, interviewed them and then a discussion with an officer coming off the plane, he told me he had heard there was a note found on the plane.

The alert was in the AM; this plane landed in the PM; but keep in mind Charlotte is the 2nd largest banking center in US and does have tall buildings. It is a weird coincidence. And the Panther's stadium is downtown next to those tall buildings, but there is no game scheduled there on the Nov 9th; the Panthers play New Orleans there on Oct 30, Thursday and are in Philly on Mon, Nov 10.

And just for giggles I looked up Nov 9th and found this on wiki:November 9 in German history. Couldn't find anything of significance for 3:03pm or 3:18 pm. I guess we'll have to wait till 3:20 pm Nov 9, 2014 to see if the SHTF and TEOTWAWKI happens!

Sorry, double post. CPU's been wonky all night.

Ok, I'll admit, the 3:03 pm and 3:18pm time thing was bugging me cause it's just a weird imprecise time. So I looked for 303 and 318 as dates and numbers;

303 is Denver CO area code; 318 is Shreveport LA area code (think Barksdale AFB -remember 2007 and the missing nukes from Minot to Barksdale?))

Interesting.

Edit to add: Also, Nov 8th, Downtown Charlotte Veteran's Day Parade, +/- 2000 ppl, sponsored by US Airways Link

a reply to: SCGrits

All very interesting. The incident at Douglas Airport seems really strange, I'm waiting for more info on that one, but I'm sure we won't get it.

The begin and end times for the alert seem very random, I guess we'll see what's up on Nov 9. I will definitely stay away from the Veteran's Day Parade uptown...I'm not big on parades anyway.

a reply to: kosmicjack


I was on break at work, and they have Fox news on the tvs, I was having a conversation, I heard the tone, and whipped my head around to look at the tv. I got a few weird looks, I asked everyone if they heard that, and no one did.

Thank you for confirming I'm not TOTALLY crazy. Didn't they test it about the same time of year a few years ago??

a reply to: RunForTheHills


en.m.wikipedia.org...


The system is constantly tested. Every day as a matter of fact.
It is law in this country that these systems have to be tested on a weekly basis and with so many broadcast stations now it's spread out over the week so that every day some stations are testing it.

I've only actually ever seen one legitimate alert and that was back in the nineties in regards to a hurricane approaching the coast. It was put out by the national weather service.

What do times have to do with area codes?a reply to: SCGrits

a reply to: AutumnWitch657

Yes, we all know that, no one is disputing that.

This was a very different type of alert.

The next 'test' will come to your cell phone. Remember, smartphones can receive presidential and Amber alerts.

It could be just a test, mis-test, or some other non-issue. The thing that gets me is that the warning is only for 15 minutes. So if this was a real event, what would be a national emergency that lasts 15 minutes?

originally posted by: Guyfriday
It could be just a test, mis-test, or some other non-issue. The thing that gets me is that the warning is only for 15 minutes. So if this was a real event, what would be a national emergency that lasts 15 minutes?

I think the idea is that the President's message will last 15 minutes, not the actual emergency. Sounds reasonable.

originally posted by: kosmicjack
a reply to: AutumnWitch657

Yes, we all know that, no one is disputing that.

This was a very different type of alert.

And did anyone catch the WH press briefing this morning...
I didn't catch anything on it.

So..
1. It was a hack..
2. They knew about it, and are sweeping it under the rug..
3. They don't know and it was a hack and..WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE IN A FUTURE FALSE FLAG!.... j/k

a reply to: higherconscience
That makes sense. It would be nice to have a Politian only speak for 15 minutes. Cut right to the point. Still it could be anything then, if the 15 minutes is for a Presidential address. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
a reply to: RunForTheHills


en.m.wikipedia.org...


The system is constantly tested. Every day as a matter of fact.
It is law in this country that these systems have to be tested on a weekly basis and with so many broadcast stations now it's spread out over the week so that every day some stations are testing it.

I've only actually ever seen one legitimate alert and that was back in the nineties in regards to a hurricane approaching the coast. It was put out by the national weather service.

It was not alerted as a test..
A radio DJ in Tennessee got the alert Via WH.. he tripped the tones..
Then a Cascade affect from there..
Yes there is the yearly National EAS Test coming. And they might be prepping for that day..
But when the test are scheduled... THEY ALWAYS NOTIFY THE PUBLIC IN ADVANCED do to the nature of this VERY SPECIFIC ALERT...

a reply to: xuenchen

I howled at this comment:

What is the message??? Why have you wrecked my tv??? Get it fixed!!!

The hack theory seems the most plausible. It has happened before. It seems poorly protected.

www.zdnet.com...

This is a concern because control over the emergency alert system could allow terrorists to prevent valid alerts from going out when needed, change valid alerts to misinformation, or give false alerts causing panics and eventually public mistrust of the messages.

Actually, it seems they have tracked down the radio show that broadcast the tones.

www.savingcountrymusic.com...

They say it was the Bobby Bones show. I bet they are in hot water. He probably played the tones to get people's attention during the show.

“This morning, there was an inappropriate playing of the national emergency alert notification tones on a syndicated radio broadcast,” FEMA spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre said in a statement. “There is not a national emergency. Today’s broadcast triggered alert notification in states where the alert has been played…FEMA and the FCC are currently working with broadcasters to determine the full scope of the situation.”

Tennessee Association of Broadcasters President Whit Adamson said in a statement, “We have discovered that this audio tone origination and possibly others was sent from WSIX-FM studios during the Bobby Bones Show in Nashville this morning and was evidently picked up by the Premiere Network program syndication in other markets.”

I'd also suspect hacks. It's happened before.



I wouldn't be surprised if some of the EAS stuff is relics (Win98?) as far as computer hardware/software, accessible by dial-up even. Still relying on security by obscurity. And it would make sense that it should have some kind of networked relay function, manage to compromise one node and you might be able to trigger alerts to other EAS centers.

It probably wouldn't take much for some kid to war dial or find a poorly secured server at a small TV or Radio station and compromise it's EAS setup, particularly if it hasn't been updated in years.

Emergency alerts keep us scared… of what might happen. Did they work on 911?

When I was a kid they used to test the Nuclear war sirens every month on Fridays…