Road signs warn of zombies

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AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin drivers making their morning commute were in for a surprise when two road signs on a busy stretch of road were taken over by hackers. The signs near the intersection of Lamar and Martin Luther King boulevards usually warn drivers about upcoming construction, but Monday morning they warned of "zombies ahead."

"I thought it was pretty funny," said University of Texas sophomore Jane Shin, who saw the signs while driving down Lamar Bouelvard with friends Sunday night. "We wondered who did it."

The City of Austin does not own the signs, but they are responsible for the message. The contractor on the construction project owns the signs. A city spokesperson said the hacked messages were only up for a few hours, until the construction project manager saw them during his morning commute and immediately ordered them to be changed back.

"Even though this may seem amusing to a lot of people, this is really serious, and it is a crime," said Austin Public Works spokesperson Sara Hartley. "And you can be indicted for it, and we want to make sure our traffic on the roadways stays safe."

Hartley said though it was a locked sign, the padlock for it was cut. Signs such as these have a computer inside that is password-protected.

"And so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it, so they were pretty determined," said Hartley.

This crime is a class C misdemeanor in Texas, and Hartley said it endangers the public.

"The big problem is public safety," said Hartley. "Those signs are out there to help our traffic on the roadway to stay safe and to know what's coming up."

KXAN Austin News cameras caught many drivers slowing down to read the signs as they approached. Some read, "Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!"

Hartley said the city will discuss more secure safety measures with the manufacturer of the signs.

Speculation among the tech-savvy on the Internet is that the signs were inspired by the video game Call of Duty 5, World at War, which is the top game in the country right now and features "nazi zombies," or an upcoming movie about zombies called "Dead Snow" (an official selection at Sundance '09). There are also several online sites that teach people how to break into these construction signs.

Do you believe in zombies? Do you have a zombie escape plan? Let us know what you think about zombies by participating in our message board .

 

[DOMS]

 

[DOMS]

You need to have a zombie plan.

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[tallcall]

My zombie plan:

Step 1 - create a human shield body suit made completely of 5th graders.

Step 2 - Position the immobilized elderly (and slower children) in key positions to line up head shots (live bait seems to work best).

Step 3 - Bring Boy George and Michael Jackson on board - I may need help finding those rather elusive 5th graders (to replenish my body armor) and slower children (because lets be honest, they are the only ones who would WANT to spend time with uncle Mikey) - an added plus is that I can always tie them up and use them as bait!

Step 4 - I need weapons...or something else that can kill at an extended range. Maybe I can get all the American Idol rejects, line them up and have them sing songs from a Whitney Houston playlist. I've always been an advocate of "less than lethal (in this case very lethal)" sonic weaponry! Another added bonus is yet again the live bait thing.

Step 5 - I need a high powered automatic weapon (just incase). Mostly to use on the living in order to get them to do what I want them to do (like bait zombies, Sing "I'm Every Woman" - oh and they will sing it).

Step 6 - Become Emperor of the WORLD!

Step 7 - I'm still not sure what to do about the impending onslaught of Vampire-Nazi-Zombies, or Robotic-Vampire-Nazi-Zombies. I think I'm going to need a whole lot of 5th graders (Boy George and Michael will have their work cut out for them)!

 

[AKIRA]

That was fucking hilarious.

I love hwo the media tries to turn into something serious when all the while I am smirking, grinning, laughing etc.

 

[rippednmichigan]

Nice

 

[maniclion]

My zombie plan:

Step 3 - Bring Boy George and Michael Jackson on board - I may need help finding those rather elusive 5th graders (to replenish my body armor) and slower children (because lets be honest, they are the only ones who would WANT to spend time with uncle Mikey) - an added plus is that I can always tie them up and use them as bait!

Don't forget that if outfitted with a blond wig Michael will instantly be disguised as a Nazi Zombie and would be able to infiltrate their hordes and place strategic remote detonated bombs.....

 

[Crono1000]

That was fucking hilarious.

I love hwo the media tries to turn into something serious when all the while I am smirking, grinning, laughing etc.

it's f'ing hilarious man, media needs to get over itself! There's gotta be doom and gloom or it doesnt' sell

 

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