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Officials in Hutchinson, Kansas recently reported that the secure phone lines used to set off emergency sirens in the area were compromised. It took officials several days to determine the source of the issue and resolve it. An excerpt of the article is provided below.
In the last week of August and the first days of September, AT&T’s secure phone system controlling the sirens was affected by a “software glitch” that has since been fixed, according to Messamore. During that time, the phone lines for each of the sirens were no longer secure, she said.
“The lines were opened up, so anyone who dialed those specific numbers could set off the tornado sirens,” Messamore said.
Officials think people accidentally calling a wrong number – the phone numbers assigned to the sirens were local numbers – set off the sirens, she said.
“The way the system is set up, the first ring means the siren will go off for one minute, the second ring means the siren will go off for two minutes, and so on … ,” Messamore said. “People were probably misdialing, and they would hear the phone keep ringing and ringing before they’d finally hang up.”
The full article can be found at the following link: http://hutchnews.com/Todaystop/sirenz2010-09-18T21-48-36
t’s easy to get complacent and drift from day to day without paying much attention to potential threats until an incident out of the blue slaps us across the face and demands we sit up and pay attention.
For many, the actions of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the man U.S. authorities say attempted to detonate an explosive device in his underwear, aboard Delta Airlines Flight 253 are such a wakeup call. The failed Christmas Day bombing came at a time when most people were focused on gathering for cherished family time and taking part in long-held holiday traditions. But with one news flash, those priorities, at least for a moment, were redirected into thoughts of safety and security.
Personally, beyond the typical reaction of most Americans to word of the failed effort, I could not help but think of the important role digital signage can play in delivering emergency alert messages.
Certainly, I’m not so wrapped up in digital signage that I think there’s a place for 42in LCD panels and a digital signage network aboard an airliner. That’s just silly. But what does come to mind is how businesses, educational institutions, stadiums and arenas, casinos, government agencies, the military and many others have taken steps to ensure emergency messaging via their digital signage networks as a component of their overall strategy for responding to a threat.
More at: http://www.content4reprint.com/business/digital-signage-emergency-alert-messages-can-save-lives.htm
