Hackers can spoof presidential alerts to incite mass panic, researchers warn

Remember that emergency Presidential Alert system that made everyone's phone obnoxiously buzz last year? 

It turns out hackers can spoof these alerts with relatively little effort, according to a terrifying new paper that warns the flaw could result in mass panic.

The paper, titled "This is Your President Speaking: Spoofing Alerts in 4G LTE Networks," details how a group of researchers were able to successfully fake mobile presidential alerts using commercially-available equipment. They were able to do so is due to a flaw in LTE networks that makes it possible for people to use store-bought equipment to create "black market cell towers," according to the paper's authors. Read more...