When geeks control the media...

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
We got hit with a doozy of a snowstorm here in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, and of course the local TV has a running ticker of closings, delays, etc.



Ever wonder what it'd look like if that system got hacked?



http://mercury.rh.ncsu.edu/tww-closings/



http://mercury.rh.ncsu.edu/tww-closings/00234910.jpg has got to be one of may favorites.



http://mercury.rh.ncsu.edu/tww-closings/00234900.jpg ain't bad either.



Brad, looks like one of your kin what done it.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    That is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.



    Especially http://mercury.rh.ncsu.edu/tww-closings/00234900.jpg
  • Reply 2 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    In the interest of determining if these were fakes (which I think not, given a couple of the off-angle pics... hard to replicate both the curve of the CRT and the scanlines), I went to the news channel's website for closures. Happy Barkings did indeed appear in their text list, but there is no happybarkings.com site.



    CONFIRMED!!11!!1
  • Reply 3 of 10
  • Reply 4 of 10
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member




    That is brilliant.



    Thanks for posting that. Hee!
  • Reply 5 of 10
    Really debated myself in posting this. It's not a hack, but sheer stupidity on MSNBC's behalf...the gentleman's really named Niger Innis.







    oops.



  • Reply 6 of 10
    I don't see how this could possibly be a hack. If what this channel 14 uses is anything like what we use at my job, there's no way anyone outside of the station could hack in.... not that there's any major security or anything, I just don't think it's even connected to the internet. All this information is fonted in the control room. I think this is an inside job or a hoax.



    The MSNBC thing above really isn't all that funny...it was just a typo.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    http://rdu.news14.com/content/closings/



    Specifically,

    Quote:

    Registration to closings is currently offline. Please call News 14 Carolina at (919) 882-4125 to register your business or organization.



    Already registered? Login to the News 14 Carolina Closings System to submit your delay.



    They offered a web page for external organizations to register and add their own closings or delays, automatically. It would be added to the onvideo ticker and the textual web page at the same time. Passwords were handed out on registration with the channel, which you'll notice is done via phone.



    A student at NC State Univ hacked the web page, getting a password, and went to town.



    Satisfied?
  • Reply 8 of 10
    Ahhh... I see. Well, serves them right I guess. They left themselves wide open for that to happen by allowing it to be automated.



  • Reply 9 of 10
    See? Sheer stupity. Running rampant everywhere.



  • Reply 10 of 10
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    http://technicianonline.com/story.php?id=009029/



    Quote:

    "Thousands of people have used the system responsibly since we started it in December 2002," says Alan Mason, general manager of News 14 Carolina.



    "It really helps out the small businesses in the area. But it only takes one person to make it a problem for others."



    Follow-up.
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