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Hacking possibly behind jumbotron porn
Cut the power: An electronic billboard on Jl
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span class="inline inline-center">Cut the power: An electronic billboard on Jl. Prapanca is seen with the lights off on Sept. 30. The billboard had its electricity cut after it was hacked and screened pornographic content.(Tempo)
It is quite possible that the personal computer used by operators of the jumbotron on Jl. Prapanca in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, that featured a Japanese adult movie on Friday afternoon was hacked, a telematics expert says.
Adi Indrayanto, a telematics expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), told The Jakarta Post on Saturday there was always a possibility the computer used to operate the jumbotron had been hacked as long as it was connected to the internet.
“If the computer is linked to the internet, it can be hacked. However, if it is not connected to the internet, there may have been a delinquent operator using the computer for another purpose,” Adi said.
The adult movie played for about five minutes that Friday afternoon, shocking many passersby. Some witnesses recorded videos of the jumbotron airing the movie and then uploaded it to social media, causing the incident to quickly go viral.
On Twitter alone, the hash tag #videotron immediately became a trending topic that afternoon.
“This is totally terrible; porn movie screening on [a] main road. Anti-mainstream Bro! #videotron,” tweeted Erwyn Rafael on his account @ErwynRaffael.
PT Transito Adiman Jati Transito Advertising, the company that rents the 24-squaremeter jumbotron from PT Matapena Komunika Advertama, said in a clarification statement on Friday that its content had been hacked.
“We have detected a breach and discovered that our content was taken over by someone who sent [to us] a virus. It was sabotage and hacking,” said PT Transito Adiman Jati manager Adrian Wiedarta as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.
Furthermore, the company has turned off all of the jumbotrons it operates in Jakarta, which is four, to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
“Because this is a possible cyber crime, there is a chance that the other jumbotrons we operate have also been hacked. So we have turned them off,” the company’s spokesperson Widi Krastawan said separately as quoted by Kompas on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono said Jakarta Police were currently investigating the incident. They have met with officials from PT Transito Adiman Jati to interrogate them on the matter.
To date, as many as 10 people have been questioned as witnesses. Two of them during the incident were reportedly watching the video from the street and the eight others were the jumbotron’s operators.
So far the police have not named any suspects.
“We are now looking for evidence. A digital forensic examination is being conducted. We want to find out whether or not the accident was unintentional or [it was the result of] hacking,” Awi said.
He added that according to PT Transito Adiman Jati, the computer used to operate the jumbotron was connected to the internet.
A similar incident happened in Jilin City, China, in 2013 when a jumbotron displayed a pornographic film.
It was later revealed that the technician of the jumbotron was watching the film on his computer that was still connected to the big screen.(vny)
