Broadcast signal intrusion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Broadcast signal intrusion is a term given to the act of hijacking broadcast signals of radio and television stations. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.
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[edit] Method of Intrusion
For analog stations it is relatively easy to break into the transmission network. All that is needed is to determine the frequency used in the studio to transmitter link, then generate a signal at the same frequency from a position near the transmitter site. The input stage of a cheap video sender can produce the right kind of signal. A low power microwave signal generator or a home made equivalent from easily available components provides the signal (which is pointed at the receiving dish antenna). Most larger stations encrypt their signal, in which case one would just jam the signal as is the case with digital. Most TV and radio stations are extremely vulnerable, but lack of knowledge has kept this from being a problem.
[edit] How Violators Are Punished
[edit] United States
According to the Federal Communications Commission, the original penalties of signal hijacking were $100,000 in fines and/or 1 year in prison until late 1987 or early 1988, when Congress passed a bill that would penalize violators with fines up to $250,000 and/or 10 years in prison. Those who engage in such acts are often referred to as "video pirates" or "video hackers". Hijacking the signal is considered a felony in the United States.
[edit] Actual Events
[edit] Captain Midnight on HBO
At 12:32 am Eastern Time on April 26, 1986, HBO (or Home Box Office) had its signal hijacked from its satellite tower in Long Island by a man calling himself "Captain Midnight". The interruption occurred during a presentation of The Falcon and the Snowman starring Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton. The intrusion lasted between 4 and 5 minutes and was seen by viewers along the East Coast. The man who during the interruption threatened to hijack the signals of Showtime and The Movie Channel, was later caught -- identified as John R. MacDougall of Ocala, Florida. He was prosecuted shortly thereafter. Authorities were tipped off by a man from Wisconsin in a phone booth at a rest stop off Interstate 75 in Gainesville, Florida. The man filing the report said that he overheard MacDougall bragging about it. He was fined $5,000 and served a year probation. McDougall stated that he did it because he was frustrated with HBO's service rates. He also said that it was hurting his business selling satellite dishes. The message broadcast by MacDougall read:
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FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT $12.95/MONTH ? NO WAY ! (SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!) |
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[edit] Religious Takeover
In September of 1987, Playboy TV (then known as the Playboy Channel) -- based on the popular adult magazine, had its signal hijacked by a man later identified as Thomas Haynie who was employed by the Christian Broadcasting Network. He was convicted and was suspended from his duties under the new provisions.[citation needed]
[edit] The Hunt for Chicago's Video Pirate
On November 22, 1987, another person -- this time wearing a Max Headroom mask, intercepted the signals of two television stations in Chicago. Independent (now CW) station WGN-TV, owned by Tribune Company was first in line. Its signal was hijacked during the sports report on its 9:00 pm newscast -- this intrusion lasted about 25 seconds. Then came PBS station WTTW -- and unfortunately for WTTW, the Max Headroom pirate was seen and heard uttering obscene remarks and later posed nude by dropping his pants, and was then spanked before the screen went black. That interception occurred at about 11:00 pm in which at that time the station was transmitting an episode of Doctor Who, entitled Horror of Fang Rock and lasted almost 90 seconds. To this day, the man responsible for these infractions still goes unidentified. This incident got the attention of the CBS Evening News the very next day and was talked about nationwide. The HBO incident was also mentioned in the same news report, presented by Frank Currier. Both WGN and WTTW along with Chicago's other television stations are broadcast from high atop two of the world's tallest buildings -- the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center.
[edit] Soviet pirate broadcasting era
According to numerous claims, memoirs and witness reports,[1][2][3] broadcast signal intrusion was a common practice in USSR during 70s and 80s, due to absence and high demand for any non-government broadcasting. Hijackers would overpower the signal on relay stations for wired radio networks, transmitting their own programming, transmit into wired radio networks during gaps in normal programming and even overpower wired signal. Even though the incidents appear to have been fairly common, few of them were publicly reported for policy reasons.
[edit] Radio broadcast intrusion
It is a more frequent event to intrude on various radio stations, as many simply rebroadcast a signal received from another radio station. All this requires is an FM transmitter that can overpower the same frequency as the station being rebroadcasted. Other methods that have been used in North America to intrude on legal broadcasts include breaking into the transmitter area and splicing audio directly in[4], and microwave signal intrusion.[5]
