Official News page 8

REAL LIFE NEWS: THE BIGGEST SPAM GENERATOR IN THE WORLD

by Hazed

The Federation Communications Commission in the US has announced the launch of a new national alert system. They will use text messaging and other mobile technologies to inform Americans when they should panic.

The idea is that an as-yet-unnamed Federal agency will be given the password to the system and will use it in an emergency, such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster - hopefully beforehand so you get some warning, but otherwise afterwards to tell you what to do. Phone carriers will all be asked to opt in to the system, and most of them have signed up to the plan, at least in concept. Users will then automatically be included unless they opt out.

In theory, this sounds like a useful idea, but I can foresee two problems. The first one is that there is the danger it will be overused, suffering from mission creep, rather than reserved for really dire emergencies. The second, more serious problem, of course is that somehow, a spammer could get hold of the password and find himself able to play with the biggest mobile spamming system in the world.

That wouldn't be fun!

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