Zombie Alert Hoax: Emergency Broadcast System Hacked
Bodies of the dead are rising from their graves, warns CBS affiliate. News at 10.
Emergency alert: zombies are rising up in Montana.
“Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living. Follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information become available. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous.”
That Emergency Alert System (EAS) voiceover warning, preceded by the standard, staccato EAS attention signal, ran Monday afternoon on CBS affiliate television station KRTV in Great Falls, Mont. The EAS warning interrupted a broadcast of “The Steve Wilkos Show” devoted to teen cheaters.
Signs of an apparent zombie apocalypse to the contrary, KRTV later that day released a statement confirming that a bogus message had been transmitted via its EAS equipment. “Someone apparently hacked into the Emergency Alert System and announced on KRTV and the CW that there was an emergency in several Montana counties,” according to the statement. “This message did not originate from KRTV, and there is no emergency. Our engineers are investigating to determine what happened and if it affected other media outlets.”
Local police likewise said there was no emergency. “We can report in the city, there have been no sightings of dead bodies rising from the ground,” Lt. Shane Sorensen of the Great Falls Police Department told the Great Falls Tribune — admittedly, with a laugh.
More: Zombie Alert Hoax: Emergency Broadcast System Hacked - Security -