Emergency sirens hacked in Lancaster, DeSoto

LANCASTER – Residents woke up earlier this month in the cities of Lancaster and DeSoto at around 2:30 a.m. to what appeared to be an apparent hack of the outdoor warning siren system.

Matt Smith, City of DeSoto Communications Manager, wrote in a press release “In addition to turning this matter over to the authorities for the impacted cities, DeSoto is moving forward with efforts to make our outdoor warning siren system operational again.”

Last week the city was working with what was identified as “complex technical and security issues” along with severe thunderstorms that passed through the area the morning after the hack.

“Re-establishment proved to be unsafe during the most recent storm system,” the DeSoto press release revealed. “But we will work diligently when weather permits to further our restoration efforts.”

It was noted the emergency siren hack appeared to have been intentional. act and those responsible are subject to arrest and prosecution.

“Accordingly, we have consulted with technical experts who help to operate the outdoor emergency sirens in our area and turned information over to our police for investigation.”

So, what would happen in Ellis County of an intentional hack ocurred?

Ferris Police Chief Eddie Salazar said, “If the advanced warning siren system were to sound off either inadvertently or if the system were to be hacked, the Ferris PD communications would immediately send out a false alarm notice to area residents.”

This is done through social media and the Nixle app.

The Ferris Police Department tests the sirens on a scheduled basis and to prevent confusion, advance warnings are given whenever a test siren will be activated.

“Even though there isn’t a history of frequent false alarms, we need to be ready in case of false alarms,” Salazar said. “The last thing we would want to happen, is for the public to fall into a sense of complacency whenever they hear the tornado sirens. We must be ready to warn the public whenever an actual emergency is in progress.”

In Red Oak, Police Lt. Marc Schroeder said “It is my understanding that the City of Desoto and the City of Lancaster are currently utilizing a DTMF system, which is older technology. The City of Red Oak is using a FSK digital system, which is much more secure than a DTMF system.”

DTMF is the method of how the tone signal is sent for the activation of the sirens. Sirens receive a signal to complete the circuit and sounds based off a series of tone codes. In the past few years, the City of Red Oak has upgraded its software and have encryption features built in it.

Red Oak also connects with its residents through CTY connect to send mass alerts to the community and residents can’t go to the City Website and sign up for alerts by phone, text, or e-mail. In addition to the CTY connect service, Red Oak has a mobile application for smart phones and the Red Oak Police Department utilizes several social media sites to relay emergency information to the community too.