SBE Alert
Feb 4, 2017
The SBE is sharing the following message with our
members at the request of the FCC.
The Federal Communications Commission is
requesting your assistance in disseminating the information below to your
organization's members.
It has come to our attention that unauthorized
persons recently may have illegally gained access to certain audio streaming
devices used by broadcasters, and may have transmitted potentially offensive or
indecent material to the public. We believe that the reported cases involved
unauthorized access to equipment manufactured by Barix, which some licensed
broadcasters use for studio-to transmitter (STL), remote broadcast (remote) and
similar audio connections. We understand that the unauthorized access to the
devices may be due, in part, to instances where the licensee fails to set a
password for devices with no default password, or to re-set default passwords
on the Barix device.
We urge licensees to take all available
precautions to prevent future unauthorized transmissions. In many cases, there
may be simple, practical solutions to prevent such situations from occurring.
For example, we strongly encourage licensees that use Barix devices, as well as
other transmitting equipment, to check and, if necessary, add a password, or
reset existing passwords with new, robust passwords. Similarly, if a broadcast
station experiences turnover in staff who had access to passwords, we encourage
licensees to reset the password to ensure future security. We also recommend
that broadcasters investigate whether additional data security measures, such
as firewalls or VPNs configured to prevent remote management access from other
than authorized devices, in some cases, could be implemented to preserve this
potentially critical part of the broadcast transmission chain. If you suspect
that broadcast equipment has been subject to attempts at unauthorized access,
we also recommend that you contact the equipment manufacturer and/or a data
security firm. We also suggest that you notify the FCC Operations Center at
202-418-1122 or FCCOPCenter@xxxxxxx of suspected unlawful access.
If you have any questions, please contact Lark
Hadley, the regional director for the Enforcement Bureau's Region Three via
WR-Response@xxxxxxx.
Thank you.
Charles Cooper
FCC/Enforcement Bureau/Office of the Field
Director/Field Director
The Society of Broadcast Engineers
9102 North Meridian St, Suite 150
Indianapolis, IN 46260
317-846-9000 | Fax 317-846-9120
Society of Broadcast Engineers, 9102 North Meridian, Suite 150,
Indianapolis, IN 46260
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