FCC Warning on Radio Station Hijacks via Emergency Alert System Exploitation

Malicious actors have exploited unsecured US radio transmission equipment to hijack broadcasts, injecting profanity-laden and offensive content by abusing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) tones. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a warning after a series of incidents in Texas and Virginia, where attackers targeted Barix network audio devices, reconfiguring them to stream attacker-controlled audio that included simulated or real EAS alert tones followed by explicit material. Some stations, such as HTX Media in Houston, confirmed their broadcasts were overtaken, with listeners reporting repeated emergency tones and vulgar tracks during live programming.

The FCC attributed these intrusions to unsecured studio-to-transmitter links and default or weak device configurations, allowing unauthorized access to critical broadcast infrastructure. In response, the FCC published a checklist of best practices for broadcasters, urging immediate firmware updates, replacement of default passwords, network segmentation, and vigilant monitoring of equipment logs. The agency also referenced prior guidance and encouraged direct engagement with equipment manufacturers to ensure robust security measures are in place, particularly for Barix hardware commonly used in the affected systems.