BRITAIN’S new emergency alert system can be hacked by rogue protestors with less than £1,000 of equipment.
It is feared hackers could use simple technology to send fake alerts within a kilometre radius – potentially sparking panic at crowded stadiums, city centres or on packed trains.
Bad actors exploiting the system could learn how to send fake alerts to thousands of people using a YouTube tutorial, the Telegraph reported last night.
A supposed security flaw in the system – which is already used in America and Canada – allows hackers to send manufactured alerts to nearby phones.
The alerts would show up as genuine, and could falsely warn of terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
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An American study from the University of Colorado Boulder warned a 50,000-seat arena could be attacked with a 90% success rate.
The new alert system will be tested at 3pm tomorrow.
All mobile phones in the UK with 4G or 5G technology light up with a warning message and play an alarm tone in the national test.
A government spokesperson said: “Our emergency alerts system is extremely secure, having been developed in conjunction with government cyber experts.
“The system will only ever be used in a very limited number of circumstances where there is a risk to life and all alerts will be published on gov.uk at the same time they are broadcast.”
