Insider wrote an article last week about Digital Billboard Hacking. The subject is timely. AL.com , Motherboard and Sixteen Nine reported that last Friday a hacker put pornographic images of Marco Rubio on 2 Alabama digital billboards owned by Durden Outdoor after a hacker breached the controls. The hack happened because the board’s login credentials were admin/admin.
Insider asked Dwight Jennings, CEO of OutdoorLink, Inc®. about his thoughts on protecting digital billboards. Outdoorlink, Inc®. makes billboard monitoring and security products. The firm’s SmartLink™ System is an innovative, web-based system for monitoring and controlling billboard and digital sign lights. Outdoorlink also just introduced security systems for digital and static billboards.
1.) Dwight, are digital billboards at risk for hacking?
“Absolutely. Billboards across the US are hacked everyday. We have already seen more serious cases of Digital billboard hacking with the prime example of the Buckhead, Atlanta incident where a major problem was created by a hacker for the billboard owner and the municipality. Hacking a Digital billboard is never just a ‘fun prank’, it is a serious trespassing offense that usually leads to vandalism, manipulated display content, and even pulling the power plug.”
2.) What are some mistakes which outdoor companies make which can expose their signs to hacking?
“It’s amazing how easily a Digital billboard can be exposed to hacking. Some mistakes that expose signs to hacking would be the positioning of the ‘Load Center’ at the bottom of a Digital structure, failure of billboard employees to lock or secure the box, not changing passwords on a more frequent, and regular basis, and neglecting to get keys and locks changed upon employee turnover. Digital structures require a large investment of both money and maintenance. This further justifies the need for instant notification of intrusion that the SmartLink™ DigitalSecure® system provides to Users as insurance.”
3.) Smartlink has introduced a Digital Outdoor Security System. How does the product work?
“The SmartLink™ DigitalSecure® system is our answer to intruders attempting to trespass your Digital billboard display. Motion detectors positioned at the top of the structure ladder will trigger immediately as the intruder begins his ascent of the Digital display. Once triggered, mounted cameras will then take pictures of the intruder, ensuring proof for police to make an arrest. The SmartLink™ Digital Secure® System will send you a text message in Real Time, alerting you of the intrusion.”
4.) Are there any extra install or monitoring costs for the system?
“To clarify, we now offer two products: the SmartLink™ DigitalSecure® and the SmartLink™ StaticSecure®. Vandalism doesn’t discriminate. Cost for each system varies based on the number of cameras, and monitoring costs start at $3 per month.”
5.) How can the product be incorporated into an existing Smartlink system?
“If you already have the SmartLink™ 302M on your static billboard, the SmartLink™ StaticSecure® interfaces seamlessly with the SmartLink™ unit. In the case of Digital structures, a SmartLink™ DigitalSecure® System with a separate modem card is required.”
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