Government, Broadcasters Working to Implement More-Effective EAS System
The government and broadcasters are working to improve the delivery and efficiency of emergency alert system messages using wireless capabilities, broadcasters and some FCC and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Monday during an emergency alert system meeting in Washington. The meeting was organized by NAB and the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations. Making the system more effective will involve improving cybersecurity and keeping pace with advancements in broadcast technology, they said.
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The investigation into the bogus zombie alert that& affected broadcasters is ongoing, said Public Safety Bureau Chief David Turetsky. Last month, the common alerting protocol systems of some stations were breached by hackers who put out an alert about a zombie apocalypse (CD Feb 14 p8). The breach was “an important reminder to all of us about the importance of cybersecurity,” he said. There are vulnerabilities out there, including in the broadcast sector, he said: To some extent this was a situation where “the doors were left open.” There were manufacturers who had default passwords, and broadcasters who installed equipment without ever changing default passwords, Turetsky said.
The hack did not affect the integrated public alert and warning system or the EAS gateway, said Damon Penn, a FEMA assistant administrator. FEMA is working to help make the lines of communication to its primary entry point (PEP) stations more secure, he said. FEMA is installing a Ku-band frequency satellite link as a primary means of acquiring the EAS messages, he said. The dedicated lines will be secondary, and the Internet will serve as a third means of messaging, he said.
The FCC has a cybersecurity tip sheet on protecting networks for small businesses, Turetsky said. The commission tried to get to the bottom of the breach very quickly, he said. The FCC spoke with stakeholder organizations, manufacturers, parts of the federal government and other entities that were affected, he added.
FEMA is focusing on completing the PEP stations’ buildout and installation of the satellite link followed by retrofitting existing stations’ equipment, Penn said. Agency resources are going toward those priorities, he said. The ability to equip the individual stations comes at the expense of several other parts of the program, he said. “We're just not ready to do that now."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio (NWR) is an “all hazards” network, said Craig Hodan of the National Weather Service Office of Operational Systems. The connection from IPAWS to NWS “provides a much more automated direct connection from alert originators,” he said. NWR is a source for EAS activation for broadcasters, he said. There are some challenges, like “working out compatibilities with some of the new digital formats and the CAP messages versus a NOAA Weather Radio audio broadcast,” he said. The agency is working with the industry to determine how to resolve those issues, he added.
The testing of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system was successful, but some issues must be addressed, said Robert Hoever, special programs director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The alerts consisted of loud tones going off on cell phones, he said. There were complaints on Amber Alerts issued around 2 a.m., he said. “It scared a lot of people.” NCMEC responded by notifying Amber Alert coordinators, he said. It’s up to the states what their policies are for issuing the alerts, he said. The organization recommended that states consider the value of issuing a WEA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., he said. “WEA is powerful and successful and we don’t want to become a victim of that success."
The FCC urged state EAS plans to remain up to date. One of the lessons learned “per the nationwide test is how important it is to have a really good sense of what your monitoring requirement is,” said Tom Beers, chief of the policy and licensing division in the Public Safety Bureau. These requirements and assignments must be well known and accessible to everyone in a participating community, he said.