Expletives Abundant After Mountain Radio Station Signal Apparently Hacked

[ChrisSmolinski]

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) – Listeners of the Breckenridge-based 106.3 FM The Lift radio station heard strange ramblings from an unknown person along with a lot of foul language on Tuesday morning.

According to listeners who contacted the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom, the hoax or hack continued for several hours.

Someone was able to take over the IP address that sends the station’s signal out, so what was heard over the air was nowhere near what the station thought it was broadcasting, and they had no way to control it as station engineers were locked out.

The radio station told CBS4 the hack was only on the booster site in Silverthorne and that normal programming content was broadcast over the main transmitter.

Full article: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2016/04/05/mountain-radio-station-signal-apparently-hacked/

[Pigmeat]

Someone is relaying Radio Jamba in Colorado?

[John Poet]

Since this was done by a real hacker, I scarcely think that likely...

[fpeconsultant]

Reminds me of the Nov 1987 max headroom incident on local WGN and WTTW - I was actually watching the WGN sports news when it happened to them - laughed so hard I almost peed my pants!!

[redhat]

Yup, and the ENG crew went out and searched for hours looking for the only three people in Chicago that were offended by it.  LOL

With the increasing tendency for stations to link to their transmitters over IP, due largely to the scarcity of microwave spectrum in most markets (large and small believe it or not) they have left the door open for intrusion.  At least in the old days you had to build gear, now you can sit at home with some clever software (and probably some inside knowledge about the target station) and cause chaos.

It is a new age.  I will be over here, under my rock

+-RH