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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."
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!"
I hate printers.
This means that the messaging infrastructures are to be really highly available under all circumstances.
Which seems no to be the case at least for GSM/3G cellular networks where these infrastructures are very complex.
Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
It's only natural mobile networks will become flooded during an emergency that this will prove useless.
Im currently in engineering at the U of C, and this semester they actually implemented this to warn students of situations (anything from fires to the worst case of shootings). This method does make a bit of sense, as traditional ways of warning such as emails or phone calls or TV can take a amount of time to be noticed while Most people notice a text message immediately.
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.
There would be three types of messages, according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president, probably involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
The second would involve imminent threats that could include natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes or university shootings.
The third would be reserved for child abductions, so-called Amber alerts.
Does anyone else find it absurd to equate the abduction of one child with a natural disaster? I realise that to THINK OF THE CHILDREN is mandatory in any political initiative, as of course is THINK OF THE TERRORISTS (though in this case the latter is actually justified), but sending out alerts to the entire population (even if geographically limited) every time a child goes missing seems to be both pointless and annoying. There are a myriad of crimes committed every day that are equally as serious. People will opt out after a short time after being deluged with the equivalent of a Fox news-ticker of crime-as-it-happens crawling across their phone all day long.