Fake PG fire radio calls

[ka3jjz]

From the NBC4 website, Al Henney and a couple of other folks on Scan-DC. Folks following such with various services (Firecom, ect.) should watch out for this....

NBC4 News item re Hacker

Authorities: Hacker Broke Into Emergency Communications System
Police Asking For Help In Finding Hacker

POSTED: 12:10 am EST November 30, 2005
UPDATED: 12:42 am EST November 30, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Authorities said a computer hacker has broken into the
emergency communications system in Prince George's County.

So far, no emergency has been adversely affected by the hacker, News4
reported. But people at the Station 9 firehouse said they are very
concerned that somebody who needs help may not get it.

Authorities said the breach happened early on Friday morning after a
radio transmission said to hold Fire Station 9's units and return all
other units on a full box alarm consisting of seven different fire
stations. A fire chief figured out that it was a fake, and transmitted
the message across the radio network.

There is only one recording of the incident so far, News4 reported,
but firefighters at Station 9 said it's happened at least three other
times.

Also in the last couple of weeks, the same man gave an ambulance crew
responding to an emergency some bogus information.

Authorities said they encourage anyone who has information on who is
behind it all to contact them right away. Fire officials in Prince
George's County said if they catch the person, he will be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law.

 

[2D1MCSO]

Fake PG Fire Radio Call's

This person (who is causing interference of a public safety radio service) probably has a bipolar disorder, but remember ladies and gentlemen forums like this make it easier for these people to obtain access to what everyone believes to be secured trunked systems. This and many other monitoring site's give out way to much information on trunked radio systems.
These sytems are just a little bit more secure than the old conventional systems. So remember boys and girls yes it's fun to monitor and scan but when a Police Officer, EMT, or any Public Service organization is kept from getting to you in a timely fashion because someone has hacked a trunked radio system, was the freedom of all of this information really important ? I think that the listing of frequencies is fine to post, and also control channels, after all thats all you need to scan or trunk track, I think posting systems Id's and connect tones postings should not be allowed, and subject to Governmental fines and punishment for web operators who post them so freely.

Could be a violation of intellectual property rights, or trade secrets, to post the system ID, as it is some what proprietary to each system, it's suppose to be the lock to keep hackers out. This will probably not be a popular post on this board, I too enjoy scanning and monitoring.

But thats just my opinion, and everyone has one! And sometimes the truth hurts!

 

[groftcc]

PG County Fire is on UHF-T conventional, not trunked.

Craig

 

[N_Jay]

Since what did a stupid kid with a radio become a "Hacker"? :roll:

The media should be slapped upside the head! :evil:

 

[N_Jay]

. . . I think that the listing of frequencies is fine to post, and also control channels, after all thats all you need to scan or trunk track, I think posting systems Id's and connect tones postings should not be allowed, and subject to Governmental fines and punishment for web operators who post them so freely.

Could be a violation of intellectual property rights, or trade secrets, to post the system ID, as it is some what proprietary to each system, it's suppose to be the lock to keep hackers out. This will probably not be a popular post on this board, I too enjoy scanning and monitoring.

But thats just my opinion, and everyone has one! And sometimes the truth hurts!

The truth might hurt, but you have missed a lot of "truth" in your understanding of trunked systems.

System IDs, connect tones, and such are transmitted in the clear. Saying they are "private", "Proprietary", and should be restricted, is like saying you "own" your house number, and no one should use it without your permission. (would cut down on junk mail) :wink:

These features were included in trunked systems to make them work, not to "secure" them.

 

[dkostrey]

I think posting systems Id's and connect tones postings should not be allowed, and subject to Governmental fines and punishment for web operators who post them so freely.

The equipment will do that for you also, posts only make it easier.

 

[Llwellyn]

Since what did a stupid kid with a radio become a "Hacker"? :roll:

The media should be slapped upside the head! :evil:

Well, there are two possibilities;

1) that someone just has a radio and is making unauthorized transmissions to the affected units

2) someone actually hacked the CAD system, and is entering false run information, and the dispatchers and watchmen are making the radio broadcasts based upon the false information.

Scenario 1 is not hacking. Scenario 2 is. The article does not make nearly enough distinction, I'll definitely give you that.

Either way, he better hope that no one gets hurt before someone finds him. God forbid he be a PG county resident and get picked up inside the county!

 

[troymail]

First of all, this article sounds very strange to me.... either the writer isn't very talented or maybe the article itself is a hoax.... it just doesn't seem very professionally written based on the grammer not to mention the content validity.

As for 2D1MCSO's comment, someone already mentioned - PG fire doesn't use a trunked radio system.

If it did, it would be much easier to lock out the radio than it is under a conventional system.

And what does hacking a CAD system have to do with transmitting a message on a radio except to possibly make your radio valid on the system... but again, that only makes sense if it was a TRS. I'm really not sure what a "hacker breach" into a system has to do with a radio transmission as was "reported".

What we're probably looking at here is someone with a portable radio that the stole and now they are just abusing it -- this happens more than people think.

I totally agree it is wrong - I'm only arguing that the report seems very suspect or maybe just really poorly written.

 

[Dank]

After hearing the clip on the news last night from last Friday morning I remember hearing that transmission. I didn't think twice about it because my scanner changed freqs before the officer advised it was an illegal transmission. One thought that came to mind, when the person keyed the mic what identifier if any came up at PG Communications. They should be suspicious of any comms from unidentified radios. In the past i have heard dispatchers ask units who they were because a questionable identifer came up.

 

[N_Jay]

Field units would not get Unit ID.
Are you sure PG has Unit ID even at dispatch?

 

[Dank]

The field units wouldn't receive the identifier from the transmitting radio, but the dispatcher would. I'm not sure if all portables have identifiers programmed, but I think all mobiles do. Many times I have heard the dispatcher ask a unit is this engine **1 or **2 because the identifier is showing **2.

 

[troymail]

I'm learning something new --- are you saying that the PG FIre radios, althought not a TRS, still cause some sort of identifier to show up in the dispatch center when the PTT is pressed? Do you know this for sure?

If this is true, I just learned something new! (not the first time, and certainly not the last!)

 

[FPO703]

Having the SysID and Connect Tone don't really add up to a whole lot. You need those AND the system key (Which is a Pain in the a** to get for a Motorola system). With that being stated, the information on here is not 'too much' as you claim. That information is readily accessible with a modified scanner, a PC, and the proper software. Even with those tools, there is no way possible to obtain the System key to hack into any system.

As for the identifier on a conventional system, there are various different types. Most have a little 'chirp' type sound that either goes out when the PTT is presses or when it is released. Some have it set up for both.

This person (who is causing interference of a public safety radio service) probably has a bipolar disorder, but remember ladies and gentlemen forums like this make it easier for these people to obtain access to what everyone believes to be secured trunked systems. This and many other monitoring site's give out way to much information on trunked radio systems.
These sytems are just a little bit more secure than the old conventional systems. So remember boys and girls yes it's fun to monitor and scan but when a Police Officer, EMT, or any Public Service organization is kept from getting to you in a timely fashion because someone has hacked a trunked radio system, was the freedom of all of this information really important ? I think that the listing of frequencies is fine to post, and also control channels, after all thats all you need to scan or trunk track, I think posting systems Id's and connect tones postings should not be allowed, and subject to Governmental fines and punishment for web operators who post them so freely.

Could be a violation of intellectual property rights, or trade secrets, to post the system ID, as it is some what proprietary to each system, it's suppose to be the lock to keep hackers out. This will probably not be a popular post on this board, I too enjoy scanning and monitoring.

But thats just my opinion, and everyone has one! And sometimes the truth hurts!

 

[Dank]

I'm learning something new --- are you saying that the PG FIre radios, althought not a TRS, still cause some sort of identifier to show up in the dispatch center when the PTT is pressed? Do you know this for sure?

If this is true, I just learned something new! (not the first time, and certainly not the last!)

I'm not an expert by any means. But what I am referring to the identifier is the chirp sound when a unit keys up PTT. If you listen to the PG freqs long enough and only an hour or 2 should be adequate you will hear this chirp sound. You will also probably hear a dispatcher ask a unit to repeat their last message because the dispatcher only got the identifier, as of they released the button too soon.
Dan

 

[BoxAlarm187]

I'm learning something new --- are you saying that the PG FIre radios, althought not a TRS, still cause some sort of identifier to show up in the dispatch center when the PTT is pressed? Do you know this for sure?

If this is true, I just learned something new! (not the first time, and certainly not the last!)

Not to highjack this thread any more than it is, but I have PTT ID capability both at work (800MHz) and the volunteer station (154MHz). We have PTT ID on both systems, and the radio ID is not only transmitted to the dispatcher, but also to the other radios on the same channel.

For those not aware, the radio transmits an identifier to the comm center (which is a series of numbers or letters and numbers), and a computer in the comm center reads what the ID is "supposed" to be, and translates this to a display on the dispatcher's screen. For example, the radio might transmit "717665" to the comm center, where the computer recognizes it, and then displays "ENGINE 21" on the dispatcher's screen.

The other mobiles don't have this feature, so when another radio keys, the mobile radio will just show "717665" on the screen.

Now back to your normally scheduled PG county talk...

 

[allen5565]

Mercy me. 2DIMCSO, a.k.a. young Dr. Frist, whence comes "This person... probably has a bipolar disorder"? Say, my shoulder is giving me a fit - any insights?

 

[NINN27]

see the SCANNING FORUM...

 

[markgrutz]

Just for my $.02 on this.

I happen to know someone in the county council staff in PG county, and this has been a problem in the past year with this same person, this is just a new incident. This person has been recorded several times, they just don't have a clue as to who it is. Somehow, however they know about where he is (or was) by the tower that picked up the transmission.

Prince George County Fire has got a problem with people having personal radios. They do allow you to have one, and you are SUPPOSED to have an identifier in your radio... most people do not. I have a friend at station 10 that has a personal radio which has an identifier on the main channel, but not the others, so his radio will show up only on the main channel. The problem with this guy, based on my intel, is the identifier does not exist on his radio.

Hopefully this problem will resolve itself when PG moves to a trunked system and the conventional radios are made useless. My bet is this kid can't afford to buy a trunked radio, much less find some idiot willing to program it for him.

Mark G.

 

[TommyP]

As far as the identifiers go, the majority are G-Star, with an increasing amount of MDC-1200 as time goes on. As far as the subscribers decoding the ID's that is possible and being done with the MDC id's. For example, CO 9 (who is one of the stations mentioned) has all high tier Motorola radios now with digital ID display, so they can see the ID of any other radio transmitting MDC. My guess is this person is not a kid playing around, but someone who actually has some sort of agenda.

 

[illbedam]

Prince George County Fire has got a problem with people having personal radios. They do allow you to have one, and you are SUPPOSED to have an identifier in your radio... most people do not.

Sorry to inform you differently, but use of personnel radios are allowed. However, the Fire Department has no say in the operations of communications systems or equipment. Public Safety Communications does, which is an entity of Homeland Security. All they ask is that they program the unit so they can place an identifier in the unit. But like you said, most people do not and yes, PGFD does have a problem.