New alert system gives president special code for emergency messages

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://thehill.com/regulation/212134-fcc-mulls-emergency-alert-system-overhaul-for-broadcasters

By Tim Devaney
The Hill
07/14/14

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to overhaul the 
Emergency Alert System so the president can speak to the country at the 
flip of a switch in the event of a nationwide emergency.

The national Emergency Alert System broadcasts television alert messages 
to warn people about immediate dangers. The system is often used at the 
local level to warn people about weather conditions such as tornadoes or 
flash floods.

The system is not capable of reaching the entire country all at once 
should the president need to warn the public of something like a terrorist 
attack or an act of war against the country. Instead, to reach the entire 
country, each local jurisdiction would have to broadcast the same message 
— a tedious process that could leave room for gaps if one station misses 
the broadcast.

So the FCC is proposing a national location code that would give the 
president the ability to broadcast to the entire country with a single 
message in the event of a nationwide emergency. The proposal will be 
published in Tuesday's edition of the Federal Register.

[...]

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