Another F--- Donald Trump hack?

Yah... some of those are good questions, though they aren't all within the scope of this discussion. For that matter, CFC isn't accountable to any of us, so they could reasonably consider some of these questions none of our business. About the only thing I can definitively say here is that they do have remote control of KLSY, and I know at least two very good engineers have the keys to that castle. As for the rest; some of it I can't say because I don't work there anymore, and some of it I can't say because I did.

As I said though, I've personally had an internet box get hacked... one that I know had a decent password. After the hack, I reprogrammed it, made the box less visible and notified Barix of the issue. Beyond that, I'm not sure what you could do, short of not using these things at all. That's not likely to happen, so I'd guess a good relationship with the manufacturer as these issues are worked out is a good idea.

As for your other questions, I suppose you could speculate on a couple of them yourself.

If one of the stations you take care of got hacked in this manner, would the FBI get involved with the FCC? Would that happen without a request of the licensee? Would it happen WITH that request or would the FCC need to take this seriously enough to bring them in, assuming they have that sort of jurisdiction? I don't know that this is likely to happen with the LPFM over there, so would the extra horsepower of a larger company make a difference? One would think it shouldn't, but...

Another level of security for a Barix, would be a little more involved, and you would need a router with four ports or a switch. Use a simple Pi3 to VNC into and control the barix with that. You would need a PI3 running headless, 5 port switch and router. Leave the Pi3 open through the router to the web and the Barix stays on the local net.

OK. That's an idea, though I'm not sure VNC is as secure as an outgoing program, such as Team Viewer and the like. Unless they've fixed it in an update I haven't used, VNC has a limited password size. Other programs can whitelist specific IPs, where VNC will talk to anyone who can get to it... much like the Barix already does. Team Viewer will also log the address of whomever is attempting to get in... authorized or not, so that would be a tool if a problem was to crop up.

xmtrland said:

Another level of security for a Barix, would be a little more involved, and you would need a router with four ports or a switch. Use a simple Pi3 to VNC into and control the barix with that. You would need a PI3 running headless, 5 port switch and router. Leave the Pi3 open through the router to the web and the Barix stays on the local net.

Click to expand...

Or, don't risk your station by being a cheapskate. Buy a Comrex or another superior model of AoIP device other than Barix.

I don't really care what the codec is or how much it cost. I would not put it directly on the internet. Always behind a router so you can control ports and restrict internet access to the GUI. Then control with a computer on the same local net via VNC, Team Viewer or whatever. But at least they(hacker) have to jump through another hoop and figure out the local IP for the Codec before they can mess with On Air audio.

Although browser history on the local machine would reveal the codec IP. It never ends you just put the best possible obstacles in place and always know how to shut your transmitter off when needed.

The song by rappers YG and Nipsey Hussle right? I wonder who in the world is doing this; and they seem to have loads of time on their hands to be hacking stations like this. If it were up to me; I would consider this a felony and perhaps the "hacker" as a terrorist.

^^^^^ yeah, is hacking a radio station a crime? I know hacking into a computer is technically a crime. But why don't we hear of any investigation?

Maybe it's not considered important enough to be investigated by authorities.

boombox4 said:

^^^^^ yeah, is hacking a radio station a crime? I know hacking into a computer is technically a crime. But why don't we hear of any investigation?

Maybe it's not considered important enough to be investigated by authorities.

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The FBI considers the threshold of computer hacking to be a federal crime, at $5,000.00. If the victim(s) can prove they were damaged to the tune of five grand or more, then the federal authorities could prosecute you as a cyber criminal. Otherwise, the FBI will call on the hacker and try to scare them away from hacking.

Interfering with a federally licensed broadcast operation is enforced by the FCC, but given the downsizing of the enforcement bureau, I doubt much will be done. That said, a station who is 'hacked' which allows someone to take control and broadcast obscene material would actually be part of the station's problem by definition, because ultimately the licensee is responsible for what is on their signal. The station is ultimately responsible if they had a device open to the public Internet.

Another thing... Was the source of the stations' feed hacked (Network level), instead of the equipment at the station itself being hacked? But even still, someone at the station should have been at the studio, to stop it.

(Kind of like the Captain America incident with HBO back in the 80s, although that wasn't over the air, but still got fed through cable systems)

Kelly A said:

... The station is ultimately responsible if they had a device open to the public Internet.

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No argument there, but stations have been leaving themselves open long before the public internet made it easier.

I recall a story about some station's analog STL getting hijacked (Chicago area?) a few years back. Still a lot of those in service.