Hackers Wreak Havoc, Warn Against ZOMBIE ATTACK!!!!!
Austin, Texas drivers were treated to a special case of the willies recently when they encountered official road signs warning them about ZOMBIES!!! Apparently some mischievous types hacked into the city owned responsible machines and set up the signs with the ZOMBIE!!!! warnings, causing both panic and confusion (oh, and plenty of LOLS too I am sure). Here’s more about the ZOMBIE gag from KXAN:
The signs near the intersection of Lamar and Martin Luther King boulevards usually warn drivers about upcoming construction, but Monday morning they warned of “zombies ahead.”
“I thought it was pretty funny,” said University of Texas sophomore Jane Shin, who saw the signs while driving down Lamar Bouelvard with friends Sunday night. “We wondered who did it.”
The City of Austin does not own the signs, but they are responsible for the message. The contractor on the construction project owns the signs. A city spokesperson said the hacked messages were only up for a few hours, until the construction project manager saw them during his morning commute and immediately ordered them to be changed back.
“Even though this may seem amusing to a lot of people, this is really serious, and it is a crime,” said Austin Public Works spokesperson Sara Hartley. “And you can be indicted for it, and we want to make sure our traffic on the roadways stays safe.”
Hartley said though it was a locked sign, the padlock for it was cut. Signs such as these have a computer inside that is password-protected.
“And so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it, so they were pretty determined,” said Hartley.
This crime is a class C misdemeanor in Texas, and Hartley said it endangers the public.
“The big problem is public safety,” said Hartley. “Those signs are out there to help our traffic on the roadway to stay safe and to know what’s coming up.”
KXAN Austin News cameras caught many drivers slowing down to read the signs as they approached. Some read, “Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!”
Am I a bad person for finding this story hilarious? Probably, but oh well. One of the games we play with the kids is the DEAD ZOMBIES ATTACK game, and my youngest (who is altogether very strange) asks us to chase him around the house pretending to be mutant ZOMBIES!!! The game typically ends with tickling and laughter, but sometimes we EAT HIS BRAINS.
Just kidding, or am I????? Seriously, if my son had seen that sign, he’d certainly have dropped a deuce, because at least once a week he asks me if ZOMBIES!!! are real. And well, who knows, maybe, you can’t ever be too sure. And now there’s proof!
BWAAHAHAHAH!
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