Security News > 2022 > August > DHS warns of critical flaws in Emergency Alert System devices
The Department of Homeland Security warned that attackers could exploit critical security vulnerabilities in unpatched Emergency Alert System encoder/decoder devices to send fake emergency alerts via TV and radio networks.
The warning was issued by DHS' Federal Emergency Management Agency as an advisory delivered through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
"We recently became aware of certain vulnerabilities in EAS encoder/decoder devices that, if not updated to most recent software versions, could allow an actor to issue EAS alerts over the host infrastructure," the DHS agency said.
Pyle will share further information on these vulnerabilities in an IoT Village talk at DEF CON 30, on August 13, between 10 AM and 02 PM. What is the Emergency Alert System?
EAS is a national public warning system that allows the president or state and local authorities to deliver critical information in case of federal or local emergency and when all other means of alerting the public are unavailable.
They can also interrupt radio and television programming to broadcast emergency alert information and can be delivered as text messages with or without audio attachments.