Hacked Road Signs Warn of Zombies

Posted on January 29, 2009

Road signs in Austin, Texas were hacked to warn of zombies. Some of the signs read "Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!" and "Nazi Zombies! Run!!" Many people thought the hacked messages were funny but the city is not amused.

KXAN.com says the padlock on the signs had to be cut and then the computer inside had to be hacked in order for hackers to gain control of the road signs.

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.

The city may talk to the manufacturers of the signs about getting better security for the road signs.

Here's a news video about more zombie warnings in Austin.