Fake SMS Alert Hawaii Missile Warning

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Do people really rely solely upon SMS text on their phone and not verify through other sources? For something as big as that, I would have thought more people would've sought to confirm it before freaking out.
 
Was it a text or an alert? An alert on the phone is something to worry about IMO.

iPhone for example gets locally issued alerts for say missing people, tornado warnings etc.
 
Either way, even though this incident was apparently an alert from Hawaii EMA that was accidentally sent, *anything cyber* can be manipulated and faked/pranked by hackers with appropriate skills. My first thought when hearing of it was it was a hacked alert. Hawaii EMA surely is tied in to FEMA and military real time info feeds, so how was this not immediately debunked within a matter of minutes?
 
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If nothing else, I think this was a good test for them, they should be grateful for the opportunity to understand how ill prepared they are.
 
What little I read on it it WAS NOT an SMS,

It was an emergency alert the same as you would receive (if enabled) an Amber Alert or Weather Alert.

It also wasn’t a “fake”, it was an accident.
 
Originally Posted By: Mackelroy
If nothing else, I think this was a good test for them, they should be grateful for the opportunity to understand how ill prepared they are.


I agree completely.

The Military and Police practice all the time.
 
With how fast a missile travels, you really don't have any time to verify the authenticity of the alert. Your best bet is to take it as a legitimate threat and do what you can to have the best personal outcome.

On most Android phones, you can turn off Amber, Extreme and Severe alerts if you wish.
I personally only have Extreme alerts enabled. I don't need to get woke up with an Amber alert to look for a beige Buick plate number 90210
that has an Alzheimers patient driving around.
 
Nope and thankfully they have the alert system available to Android and Apple iOS. The old method was that tone on TV and radio and a voice recording this is an emergency alert. Since fewer folks use radio/TV they added function to smartphones.

I am unclear if radio/TV got the same message but guessing yes.
 
And I also wonder if anyone took it seriously, thought they were going to die and said, honey we are on the beach, why don't we go out with a bang
 
Perhaps the Hawaii Government needs to get their own house in order as they continue to rail against the U.S. government. I mean seriously..had a government official press the wrong button? Height of Hawaii gov incompetency.

The buton should have been under a flip-up clear cover guard.
 
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On TV:
Saw people driving into tunnels and parking it.
Didn't see any people running and screaming.
What's the point? You are on an island. Go home or to the nearest bar and have a drink.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
And I also wonder if anyone took it seriously, thought they were going to die and said, honey we are on the beach, why don’t we go out with a bang


I’ve already read that “How many Missile Babies in 9 months”...
wink.gif


This thread title reads like an enquirer headline ...

And if it had been legitimate and people had not payed attention people would be saying they should have trusted the warning and taken action... Since it wasn’t a legitimate threat people are saying they should have spent some portion of their ~37 minute time to figure out if a governmental alert was real. (which enough to jam the 911 system apparently did).

It was apparently almost immediately recognized to be a mistake, but once that cat is out of the bag and all...

Quote:
U.S. Pacific Command has detected no ballistic missile threat to #Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error and was a false alarm. pic.twitter.com/Lvg17VNjiF


What If Hawaii's False Missile Alert Had Been Real? Here's What Would Happen Next

Also for whatever reason it seems to have taken approximately the same amount of time it would take an ICBM to travel from NK to HI for the above to be delivered as an authentic emergency alert...
 
local news here said the person responsible would not be fired and will receive additional training. I think that I can administer the training....step 1. dont ever push that button unless you are told by someone really really important. got it? training over
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I don't need to get woke up with an Amber alert to look for a beige Buick plate number 90210
that has an Alzheimers patient driving around.


Here they call that a silver (hair) alert. Honest.
 
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
local news here said the person responsible would not be fired and will receive additional training. I think that I can administer the training....step 1. dont ever push that button unless you are told by someone really really important. got it? training over


What was their excuse? It was a prank or it wasn't because that doesn't happen accidentally.

But they are a govt employee so that means firing them is [censored] near impossible right?
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder

It was an emergency alert the same as you would receive (if enabled) an Amber Alert or Weather Alert.
It also wasn’t a “fake”, it was an accident.


Yep, a simple google search says ‘Wrong Button’ Sent False Missile Alert to Hawaii

Even the best technology has :human factors" involved (good and bad)
 
Verify an alert like that? Serious?

There won't be a way in time. There's no "Nuclear War: Real or Fake" real-time website. Phone lines will be jammed, etc.

I guess I must be in the minority to have grown up in a place where signs that said "Fallout Shelter" were popular.

In between Reagan baiting the USSR, Iraqi bomb scares during Desert Storm, and the original World Trade Center attack, I've been through my share of bomb scares and the resulting evacuations or lockdowns.

It's mostly going to be the older guys here who can tell you what us was like to live in a world that seemed a hair away from ending in a flash of light, but no, verification of that sort of thing is what happens after you have taken cover.

Treat it like a fire alarm, regardless of this incident.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45

But they are a govt employee so that means firing them is [censored] near impossible right?

He will likely be promoted. Incompetency is nothing special in government. True talent is special but there is likely less of it in gov.
Of course he won't be fired.
 
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