Broadcast signal intrusion
A broadcast signal intrusion is the hijacking of broadcast signals of radio, television stations, cable television broadcast feeds or satellite signals without permission nor license. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.
Although television, cable and satellite broadcast signal intrusions tend to receive more media coverage, radio station intrusions are more frequent, as many simply rebroadcast a signal received from another radio station. All that is required is an FM transmitter that can overpower the same frequency as the station being rebroadcast. Other methods that have been used in North America to intrude on legal broadcasts include breaking into the transmitter area and splicing audio directly into the feed.[1]
As a cable television operator connects itself in the signal path between individual stations and the system's subscribers, broadcasters have fallen victim to signal tampering on cable systems on multiple occasions.
Notable incidents[]
Southern Television[]
On November 26, 1977, an audio message, purporting to come from outer space and conveyed by an individual named ‘Vrillon’ of the ‘Ashtar Galactic Command’, was broadcast during an ITN news bulletin on Southern Television in the United Kingdom. The intrusion did not entirely affect the video signal but replaced the program audio with a six-minute speech about the destiny of the human race and a disaster to affect "your world and the beings on other worlds around you". The IBA confirmed that it was the first time such transmission had been made. None of the individuals responsible for the intrusion have been identified, although some people believe that the message could have originated from an alien race.[2] However, others have pointed out that the fact the "alien" voice spoke with a British accent and the fact that the "aliens" only managed to hijack a TV station in rural southern England make it more likely the source was a local human, possibly even one or more broadcast students or a Southern Television employee, pulling a hoax.[3]
Captain Midnight[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Captain_Midnight_HBO.jpg/220px-Captain_Midnight_HBO.jpg)
At 12:32 a.m. Eastern Time on April 27, 1986, HBO (Home Box Office) had its satellite signal feed from its operations center on Long Island in Hauppauge, New York interrupted by a man calling himself "Captain Midnight". The interruption occurred during a presentation of The Falcon and the Snowman. The intrusion lasted between 4 and 5 minutes and was seen by viewers along the East Coast. The man, who during the interruption also threatened to hijack the signals of Showtime and The Movie Channel, was later caught and identified as John R. MacDougall of Ocala, Florida. He was prosecuted shortly thereafter. Authorities were tipped off by a man from Wisconsin in a phone booth at a rest area off Interstate Highway 75 in Gainesville, Florida. The man filing the report said that he overheard MacDougall bragging about it.
MacDougall's guilt was confirmed by an FCC investigation that showed he was alone at Central Florida Teleport at the time of the incident and a recording of the jamming video showed that the text was created by a character generator at that location. He was charged with transmitting without a radio license in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. MacDougall pled guilty and was fined $5,000 and served a year probation. Ambiguity about whether the 47 USC 301 charge was applicable since the transmitter had a license resulted in the passage of 18 U.S.C. § 1367 which made satellite jamming a felony.
MacDougall was able to perform the intrusion while working a second job as a master control operator at a satellite teleport in Florida, where he worked to make ends meet due to declining income from his satellite TV equipment business. He stated that he did it because he was frustrated with HBO's service rates and that it was hurting his business selling satellite dishes (hence his second job at the teleport). The message, placed over SMPTE color bars, broadcast by MacDougall read:
GOODEVENING HBO
FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
$12.95/MONTH ?
NO WAY !
[SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!]
Max Headroom incidents[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Max_Headroom_broadcast_signal_intrusion.jpg/220px-Max_Headroom_broadcast_signal_intrusion.jpg)
On November 22, 1987, an unidentified man wearing a Max Headroom mask appeared on the signals of two television stations in Chicago. Independent station WGN-TV, owned by Tribune Broadcasting, was hijacked first. The intrusion occurred during the sports report on its 9:00 p.m. newscast and lasted about 25 seconds. Then came PBS station WTTW, where the man was seen and heard uttering garbled remarks before dropping his pants, partially exposing his buttocks, and was then spanked by a woman wearing a french maid costume with a flyswatter before the screen went black. The next interception occurred at about 11:00 p.m. during an episode of the Doctor Who serial, "Horror of Fang Rock", and lasted almost 90 seconds. None of the individuals responsible for the intrusion have been identified. This incident got the attention of the CBS Evening News the next day and was talked about nationwide. The HBO incident was also mentioned in the same news report.
Playboy Channel religious message[]
A broadcast of softcore pornography on the Playboy Channel was disrupted with a text-only religious message on Sunday, September 6, 1987.[4] The message read, "Thus sayeth the Lord thy God: Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Repent, the kingdom of Heaven is at hand"[5][6] (from the Bible verses Exodus 20:8 and Matthew 4:17).
Thomas Haynie, an employee of the Christian Broadcasting Network, was convicted of satellite piracy in connection with the incident.[5] Haynie, who pleaded his innocence,[6] was the first person convicted under a new federal law which had made satellite hacking a felony following the Captain Midnight and Max Headroom incidents.[7]
According to investigators, it was the religious content of the transmission and the type of equipment used that drew them to CBN. The jamming signal left behind subtle technical clues that were captured on a VHS recording made at the Playboy Channel's uplink at the time of the event – like finding "fingerprints" in the video. After investigators were confident that they identified the brand of transmitter and character generator from the video, they concluded that CBN was the culprit. Haynie, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was on duty at his job as an uplink engineer at the time of the jamming.[8]
CBN maintained that the FCC's case was entirely circumstantial since there were no witnesses and the signal could not be traced to a point of origin. During the investigation, experts on both sides attempted to recreate the incident with CBN's equipment. According to CBN spokesman Dino McCann they were unsuccessful.[9] Furthermore, CBN asserted that there was not enough power for Haynie to jam Playboy's signal[9] but during the trial, government witnesses said the CBN station was capable of interfering with satellite transmissions.[10]
After initially being deadlocked,[4] the jury eventually sided with the prosecution and convicted Haynie on two of six counts. (Haynie was acquitted of similar charges of interfering with the American Exxxtasy channel;[5] a recording of the event was of such poor quality that it was unusable.) Haynie received three years of probation, a $1,000 fine, and 150 hours of community service.[10]
"Telewizja Solidarność" (TV Solidarity)[]
In September 1985, four astronomers at Poland's University of Toruń, Zygmunt Turło, Leszek Zaleski, Piotr Łukaszewski and Jan Hanasz, used a home computer, a synchronizing circuit, and a transmitter to superimpose messages in support of the labor movement Solidarność (Solidarity) over state-run television broadcasts in Toruń, including an episode of 07 zgłoś się. The messages read "Dość podwyżek cen, kłamstw i represji. Solidarność Toruń" ("Enough price increases, lies, and repressions. Solidarity Toruń") and "Bojkot wyborów naszym obowiązkiem." ("It is our duty to boycott the election", referring to the Sejm elections of 1985) with the Solidarity logo.[11] The four men were eventually discovered and were charged with "possession of an unlicensed radio transmitter and publication of materials that could cause public unrest". At their sentencing, the judge noted their prize winning work in the Polish scientific community and gave each of them probation and a fine of the equivalent of US$100 each (or 3,000,000 old złoty, 300 PLN in today's currency).[12]
Soviet pirate broadcasting[]
Broadcast signal intrusion was a common practice in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s due to the absence of and high demand for any non-government broadcasting.[13] As early as 1966, there was a report of an incident in the city of Kaluga where an 18-year-old had broadcast a hoax announcement that nuclear war had broken out with the United States.[14]
In the mid-1970s so many pirates were operating around the city of Arkhangelsk, especially at night, that local people were urged to telephone reports of violators to a special number.[13]
Hijackers using call signs such as "Cucumber", "Radio Millimeter", "Green Goat", "Fortune", and others, would overpower the signal on relay stations for wired radio networks to transmit their programming, or transmit into wired radio networks during gaps in normal programming.[13] Even though the incidents appear to have been fairly common according to reports from the BBC,[13] most were not publicly acknowledged for policy reasons. Reports in newspapers typically referred to the hijackers as "radio hooligans broadcasting drivel, rudeness, vulgarity, uncensored expressions, and trashy music".[13] State news organizations also attempted smear campaigns against such pirate broadcasters, claiming that they had interfered with a state frequency used by Aeroflot, "preventing a doctor in an air ambulance from transmitting information about a patient".[13]
2006 Lebanon War[]
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Israel overloaded the satellite transmission of Hezbollah's Al Manar TV to broadcast anti-Hezbollah propaganda. One spot showed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with crosshairs superimposed on his image followed by three gunshots and a voice saying "Your day is coming" and shots of the Israeli Air Force destroying targets in Lebanon.[15]
WBLI and WBAB[]
On the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2006, the signal of Babylon, New York FM radio station WBAB was hijacked for about 90 seconds[16] while the signal jammers broadcast the song "N----r Hatin' Me" by the 1960s-era white supremacist country singer Johnny Rebel.[17][better source needed] Roger Luce, the station's morning host, said at the time, "Whatever that was - it was very racist... 22 years at this radio station - I've never seen anything like this."[18]
The incident made all the local newscasts that night.[citation needed] The next morning, it made the front page on Newsday with the headline "JACKED FM". The station's new general manager, John Shea, said, "I've only been here a week and we get hijacked."[citation needed] Former program director John Olsen said, "This was not some child's prank, this was a federal offense."[16][19]
The hijack was likely accomplished by overpowering the studio transmitter link (STL) signal to the transmitter in Dix Hills.[17][better source needed] A signal hijacking with the same song happened to WBAB's sister station WBLI about two weeks earlier[17][20] on a Sunday night.[citation needed]
"The Winker's Song" incidents[]
In June and July 2017, Mansfield 103.2 FM, a local radio station in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England in the United Kingdom, had its signal intruded at least eight times during outside broadcasts. During these intrusions, "The Winker's Song (Misprint)" was played. As of July 2017, the perpetrator had not been identified.[21]
Other incidents[]
Television signal intrusions[]
During the second inning from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series (known for Kirk Gibson’s famous walk-off Home Run) on October 15, 1988, an unidentified technician from NBC affiliate WMGT-TV in Macon, Georgia was fired after a 10-second sex scene from a random program was shown on-air during broadcast. The incident was recalled 3 days later that the incident is under investigation, as production manager L.A. Sturdivant recalled that the incident was just an accident. [22]
On January 3, 2007, in Australia, during a broadcast of an episode of the Canadian television series Mayday (known in Australia as Air Crash Investigation) on the Seven Network, an audio signal unexpectedly started playing, clearly saying in an American accent, "Jesus Christ, help us all, Lord." This same voice message continued to repeat itself over and over during the show for a total of six minutes. A spokesman for Seven later denied that the transmission was a prank or a security breach and claimed that the repeated line was part of the original broadcast and said, "Jesus Christ, one of the Nazarenes", although there is hardly any similarity between the two phrases. A subsequent investigation by independent researchers revealed that the invading transmission was actually from a videotaped news broadcast of a civilian truck being ambushed in the Iraq War. It remains unknown whether or not this was an intentional act of television piracy or a genuine glitch of some sort.[23][24]
On March 12, 2007, during a 9 p.m. airing of an Ion Life rebroadcast of a Tom Brokaw-hosted NBC special, State of U.S. Health Care, on Phoenix, Arizona TV station KPPX-TV, a station employee inserted about 30 seconds of a pornographic film into the broadcast, prompting telephone calls to local news media outlets and the local cable provider, Cox Communications.[25] Parent company Ion Media Networks conducted a rigorous investigation into what they called "an intolerable act of human sabotage", and shortly thereafter, announced that the employee found to be responsible had been fired, threatening further legal action.[26]
On June 17, 2007, an intrusion incident occurred on Czech Television's Sunday morning programme Panorama, which shows panoramic shots of Prague and various locations across the country, especially mountain resorts. One of the cameras, located in Černý Důl in Krkonoše, had been tampered with on-site and its video stream was replaced with the hackers' own, which contained CGI of a small nuclear explosion in the local landscape, ending in white noise.[27] The broadcast looked authentic enough; the only clue for the viewers was the Web address of the artist group Ztohoven, which had already performed several reality hacking incidents before. Czech Television considered legal action against the group, and tourism workers in the area expressed outrage (since the program serves to promote tourism in the areas shown).[28]
On July 13, 2007, a grainy photo of a man and woman interrupted Washington, D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA-TV's digital or HD signal. The picture was not transmitted over the analog signal, however. The incident was deemed a genuine signal intrusion by various websites but has since been confirmed to be the result of an older HDTV encoder malfunctioning in the early morning hours and going undetected. Station management stated that the image was from an advertisement for The Oprah Winfrey Show.[29]
On February 11, 2013, Great Falls, Montana CBS affiliate KRTV had their Emergency Alert System hijacked with a audible message warning viewers that "dead bodies are rising from their graves".[30][31] Later the same night in Marquette, Michigan and the early morning hours in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the same type of hijacking and reference to a "zombie invasion" was made over the EAS systems of CBS affiliate WKBT-DT, ABC affiliate WBUP and PBS member station WNMU during primetime programming.[32][33] Shortly afterwards, PBS affiliate KENW of Portales, New Mexico was struck with a similar hacking incident, repeating similar information regarding zombies;[34] however, this led to the arrest of the hacker of the four television stations.[35]
Cable network feed intrusions[]
On May 1, 2007, a Comcast headend replaced the Disney Channel's program Handy Manny with hard-core pornography for viewers in Lincroft, New Jersey. Comcast stated it was conducting an investigation into the event's cause but did not announce findings to the public.[36][37]
On February 1, 2009, another Comcast headend, in Tucson, Arizona, replaced NBC affiliate KVOA's signal with graphic footage from the pornographic video Wild Cherries 5 in portions of Arizona for 28 seconds, interrupting Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter. Comcast claimed "Our initial investigation suggests this was an isolated malicious act. We are conducting a thorough investigation to determine who was behind this." KVOA also announced that it will be investigating the incident.[38][39] On February 4, 2011, former Cox Cable employee Frank Tanori Gonzalez was arrested by the FBI and local police in relation to the case.[40]
On April 20, 2012, three minutes of a gay pornographic film was broadcast during a morning news show on the Channel Zero-owned independent station CHCH-DT in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada for Shaw Cable viewers. The night before, a cable was cut; while it was being fixed on the morning of the incident, the adult programming was spliced into CHCH's feed.[41][42]
Satellite feed intrusions[]
On July 6, 2008, a distribution fault at Sky in New Zealand replaced the Prime rugby union program Grass Roots Rugby with three minutes and 50 seconds of hardcore pornography. In a press release, Sky stated it had taken steps to ensure it did not happen again, while Prime apologized for any offense the mistake may have caused.[43][44]
On September 7, 2012, the Disney Channel once again was interrupted on the Dish Network, replacing 6 minutes of Lilo & Stitch with a portion of a hardcore pornographic movie.[45]
On March 11, 2016, private satellite dish owners in Israel watching HaAh HaGadol (the Israeli version of Big Brother) on Channel 2 had their show interrupted by propaganda videos from Hamas. The disruption lasted a little over three and a half minutes.[46]
Radio signal intrusions[]
During the 2020 United States Presidential Election, the radio station WWEI 105.5 FM (which is owned by Entercom and serves Springfield, Massachusetts), was hijacked and interrupted with a voice that said "don't be a chump, vote for Trump". As of November 4, attempts to contact the FCC were unsuccessful.[47]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Kipp, Vicki W. "Tower Industry Part 11 – Tower Harassment". Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ "Source of hoax space broadcast stays a mystery". The Times. 28 November 1977. pp. 2, col. E.
- ^ "Oddity Archive: Episode 10 - Captain Midnight/Vrillon". Oddity Archive. Nov 12, 2012. Event occurs at 11:43.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Jury Tries Again on Messages Put in Porn Films". Los Angeles Times. United Press International. 24 September 1990. p. 10. ISSN 0458-3035.
A federal judge today ordered deadlocked jurors to resume deliberations in the case of a Christian Broadcasting Network technician accused of interrupting soft-porn movies with religious messages.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Porn-Film Message Suspect Is Convicted". Los Angeles Times. 25 September 1990. p. 17. ISSN 0458-3035.
[Haynie] was convicted on one felony count of interfering with the operation of a satellite and a misdemeanor count of violating a radio license, both for the interruption of the Playboy Channel. He was acquitted of similar piracy charges regarding interruptions on the American Exxxtasy Channel.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Branscomb, Anne W. (1994). Who owns information?: from privacy to public access. New York: Basic Books. pp. 112–113. ISBN 0-4650-9175-X.
- ^ Forester, Tom; Morrison, Perry (1994). Computer Ethics: Cautionary Tales and Ethical Dilemmas in Computing. MIT Press. p. 74. ISBN 0-262-56073-9.
- ^ United States of America v. Thomas M. Haynie, 940 F.2d 653 (United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit Aug 14, 1991).
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Trial Set in Jamming of Playboy Channel". dailypress.com. 1990-05-24.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Federal Jury Convicts CBN Technician". dailypress.com. 1990-09-25.
- ^ "Telewizja "Solidarność" Toruń 1985" (in Polish). w.icm.edu.pl. 2006-05-18. Archived from the original on 2009-12-06. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ "POLISH TV PIRATE - JAN HANASZ - Podziemne Wydawnictwo "Kwadrat" - "Solidarność" Toruń". w.icm.edu.pl. 1985-09-14. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "'Lords' and 'Knights' defy Soviet authority, 'pollute' the airwaves". The Christian Science Monitor. January 18, 1984. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Soviet 'Pirate Radios' Spark Government Ire". The Milwaukee Journal. September 29, 1966. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ Friedman, Herbert. "Psychological Operations during the Israel-Lebanon War 2006". Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "WBAB radio signal hijacked" (website). Babylon, New York: WBAB. Archived from the original on 2009-06-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Roe, Tom (2006-05-19). "WBAB radio signal hijacked". free103point9 Newsroom / Transmission Art News. Galen Joseph-Hunter. Archived from the original on 2020-05-16.
- ^ Aircheck of the WBAB Signal Intrusion
- ^ Lamberty, Reid (2006-05-18). "WBAB-FM Airwaves Hijacked By Pirates: Long Island Radio Station Has Offensive Material On Its Air". WCBSTV.com (website). Archived from the original on 2006-11-10.
- ^ "Pirate hijacks New York radio signal". UPI. 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
- ^ "Mansfield radio station hit by 'winker' song hijacker". Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ "WMGT-41's World Series hijacking incident". The Atlanta Constitution. October 15, 1988. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ Trickey, Gareth (January 4, 2007). "Mystery video audio dynamite". Herald Sun.
- ^ "Was Channel 7 hacked by Jesus?". danwarne.com. January 5, 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18.
- ^ "Hard-Core porn interrupts Brokaw broadcast". NBC News. 2007-03-17. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
- ^ Malone, Michael (2007-03-21). "KPPX Sacks Porn Prankster". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
- ^ Don82CZ (17 June 2007). Czech nuclear bomb prank hoax. Retrieved 27 December 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ Wohlmuth, Radek (June 17, 2007). "Umělci napadli vysílání ČT 2. Podívejte se jak" [Artists attacked CT 2 broadcast. See how]. Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ Swann, Phillip (July 13, 2007). "Washington DC TV Station 'Hijacked' By Racy Photo". tvpredictions.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007.
- ^ "Montana TV Station's Emergency Alert System Hacked, Warns of Zombie Apocalypse". Gawker. February 11, 2013. Archived from the original on February 13, 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- ^ Howerton, Jason (11 February 2013). "Local Station Breaks Into Programming With Emergency Zombie Apocalypse Alert". Mediaite. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Zombies? Emergency Broadcast System hacked". WLUC-TV. February 11, 2013. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013.
- ^ Thompson, Cynthia (11 February 2013). "ABC 10 victim of hackers". WBUP. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "EAS Zombie Alert Hits More Stations. Finger Pointing Over How it Happened Begins". mediabistro.com. February 12, 2013. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- ^ "UPDATE: EAS hacker found". ABC 10/CW 5 - WBUP/WBKP. February 12, 2013.
- ^ "Disney Channel Horror: Customers Get Porn Instead". CBS4.com. 2007-05-03. Archived from the original on 2007-09-17.
- ^ "New Jersey Kids See Porn Instead of Cartoons on Disney Channel". Fox News. 2007-05-03. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
- ^ "Porn Clip Interrupts Super Bowl Broadcast In Tucson, Arizona: Fans Exposed To X-Rated Movie Scene". news.sky.com. February 3, 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-04-30.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- ^ "Super Bowl porn hits US viewers". BBC News. 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ STAR, Kim Smith ARIZONA DAILY. "Man arrested in connection with airing of porn clip during 2009 Super Bowl". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ "Oops! A morning news broadcast to remember". 21 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016 – via The Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ "Hamilton, Ont., news station broadcasts gay porn". Toronto Sun. April 20, 2012.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/also_in_the_news/7493256.stm
- ^ https://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/hardcore-porn-accidentally-broadcast-on-prime-tv-2008070617
- ^ Walsh, Michael (September 19, 2012). "Children accidentally see porn footage during 'Lilo and Stitch' broadcast". nydailynews.com.
- ^ Gross, Judah Ari (March 12, 2016). "Hamas hacks into Israeli TV and threatens: 'Terror will never end'". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Ring, Kim. "Talk radio station frequency hijacked by Trump message in Warren". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
External links[]
- CBS News report on Max Headroom Chicago Takeover at YouTube
- Statement made by art group ZTOHOVEN regarding their attack at the public service broadcaster in the Czech Republic
- An artistic group interfered with the Czech TV broadcast with fictitious nuclear explosion
- Video of the "Telewizja Solidarność" signal intrusions at YouTube
- Polish Tv pirate (This page has moved)
- Federal Communications Commission
- Satellite television
- Cable television
- Broadcast engineering
- Security