Emergency Alerts Via Text Messaging

The New York Times is reporting that a plan has been approved by Federal regulators to use text messaging to distribute emergency alerts. The system is scheduled to go online by 2010, and will include three different types of alerts: national alerts (such as terrorist attacks), imminent threats (such as natural disasters), and Amber alerts. From the Times: "The plan stems from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires upgrades to the emergency alert system. The act requires the Federal Communications Commission to develop ways to alert the public about emergencies. 'The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cellphones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families prior to, and during, disasters and other emergencies,' the commission chairman, Kevin J. Martin, said after the plan was approved."

Comments

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[MrNaz]

I get text alerts from my cell network letting me know about remaining talk time etc. Recently they have started embedding targetted ads in them. Perhaps that'll happen with this system too?

"National Alert:
An attack is being carried out in Washington. The White House has been bombed.
This week only, half price survival gear at Mitchell's Disposals. Compasses, water bottles, camp stoves and outdoor gear as well as army surplus equipment. Get it while it's hot!"

Fraudulent messages?

[NeuralAbyss]

I'd be curious to see what sort of authentication the networks are pushing for this sort of broadcast message - will third parties be able to forge the sender phone number/name?

I frequently receive spam on my mobile by SMS and "service messages" (SMS with integrated hyperlinks) which purport to be from a textual name rather than a sender telephone number.

Given the propensity for telco networks to be less than secure with regards to CNI information, I'd hope that tighter restrictions on sender CNI in SMS is adopted if this plan goes ahead - with the level of sheeple out there, a targeted social engineering attack against a public event could cause chaos. Take, for example, the WVU emergency alert system mentioned in another comment - if someone were to forge a message about a school shooting to a decent number of students, I could quite easily see the day's classes being disrupted. Extrapolate that to a national warning system.. and there's a lot to be done before I'd trust a SMS coming in from "Federal Warning System" regarding a serious incident.

Re:will the cell phone companies make it 100% free

[DuctTape]

I had to call Sprint several times to turn off my text messages since I was getting on the order of 100 spam messages a month, resulting in > $10 additional charges. It took a while because:

• They couldn't believe that someone would not want text messages.
• They couldn't believe that those messages were spam. After all, how could someone get my phone number? (they started coming on day one) I must have wanted those messages!
• They couldn't believe that their blacklist tool wasn't working. Every originating number or address I put in kept on receiving those messages.

The third attempt stopped the messages, but only downstream of the message counter, so I was no longer receiving the messages, but they charged me for them anyway. I finally had to use social engineering to get Sprint's secret network support number from them and explain it to a Real Tech what was going on, and he fixed it.

Face it, they're going to try to stop you from taking away their revenue.

Of course I left Sprint.

DT