Hawaii's false missile alert sent by worker who thought attack on U.S. was imminent, FCC says
Source: Washington Post
Hawaii's false missile alert sent by worker who thought attack on U.S. was imminent, FCC says
By Brian Fung and Mark Berman January 30 at 1:32 PM
The Hawaii employee who sent out a false alarm earlier this month warning of an incoming missile attack said they misheard a message played during a drill and believed a ballistic missile was actually heading for the state, according to a federal investigation.
This directly contradicts the explanations previously offered by Hawaii officials, who have said the Jan. 13 alert was sent because the employee hit the wrong button on a drop-down menu.
The cellphone alert sent to Hawaii residents set off a panic across the state, coming as heightened tension with North Korea has fueled fears of nuclear attacks on the United States. To make matters worse, the alarming message blaring BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. went uncorrected for an agonizing 38 minutes.
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The Federal Communications Commission, said in a preliminary report (1) released Tuesday that the state employee who sent out the alert "claimed to believe ... that this was a real emergency, not a drill." (Wireless emergency alerts warning of danger are typically sent out by state and local officials through a partnership between the FCC, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the wireless industry.)
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This story has been updated and will be updated again when the state investigation's results are released.
Brian Fung covers technology for The Washington Post, focusing on telecommunications, Internet access and the shifting media economy. Before joining The Post, he was the technology correspondent for National Journal and an associate editor at the Atlantic. Follow @b_fung
Mark Berman covers national news for The Washington Post and anchors Post Nation, a destination for breaking news and stories from around the country. Follow @markberman
(1) https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-348923A1.pdf
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/01/30/heres-what-went-wrong-with-that-hawaii-missile-alert-the-fcc-says/
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