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FEMA Phones Hacked, Calls Made To Mideast and Asia

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the oh-that's-just-not-good dept.

purplehayes writes "A hacker broke into a Homeland Security Department telephone system over the weekend and racked up about $12,000 in calls to the Middle East and Asia. The hacker made more than 400 calls on a Federal Emergency Management Agency voicemail system in Emmitsburg, Md., on Saturday and Sunday, according to FEMA spokesman Tom Olshanski."

4 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. Who hacks phones anymore? by ralf1 · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    In an age of IP Telephony it seems kind of silly and ends up just being vandalism

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    "Would you, could you, with a goat?" Dr Seuss
    1. Re:Who hacks phones anymore? by sm62704 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      NO's problems stemmed from a combination of local, state, and federal government ineptness. When two tornados trashed my neighborhood in 2006, I was very impressed with the city government's response. Although there were few utility poles standing in my especially hard-hit neighborhood the next morning, as well as a lot of other neighborhoods, the city-owned utility had power back on to everyone within a week. It contrasted dramatically to another tornado that hit Cahokia, a hundred miles south (I grew up in Cahokia) three months later with far less damage and folks were without power for a month (corporate-owned Amerin).

      I was less impressed with the Illinois Emergency Management Authority. However, compared to FEMA's response to our tornado, the IEMA was stellar. FEMA is a joke under the Bush administration.

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      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    2. Re:Who hacks phones anymore? by CaptPungent · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      God don't get me started about Amerin. Ever since they bought up IL Power they've done a great job screwing everything up in the St L metro area. The ice storm that hit us had most of us without power for weeks.

      Combine that with the asinine amount they charge for gas and electric compared to what Missouri residents pay, and it was a no-brainer for me to just get the hell out of IL altogether and move to MO. Least over here they regularly smack Amerin across the face to keep them from overcharging.

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      C Pungent
  2. Re:Hacker? by AP31R0N · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Alas, the ignorant shape the use of our language more than anyone. You're right about Phreaker, but who knows that term beyond geeks? The term hacker and pirate are completely corrupted from their rightful meanings (along with acronym, utilize and impact). Whenever i try to point out the correct use of words i'm met with apologists and insults.

    http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=650135&cid=24658053

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