Cellphone Alert System Breached in Brazil, Message Sent in Leetspeak (cnn.com)
- Reference: 0184010846
- News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/26/06/20/175205/cellphone-alert-system-breached-in-brazil-message-sent-in-leetspeak
- Source link: https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/20/americas/brazil-hackers-unauthorized-alert-latam
> An unauthorized alert bearing a mysterious message that was sent to cell phones in several states across Brazil on Saturday morning is suspected to be the work of hackers, the Brazilian government said. Devices lit up with the word "misantropi4," an alphanumeric spelling of the Portuguese word "misantropia," which in English translates to "misanthropy". The final letter "a" was substituted with a number '4' — a practice often used by hackers and termed "leetspeak.". The alert — categorized as "extreme" — was initially received in the southern state of Paraná, but a second warning was triggered a few minutes later for cell phones in the major cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian authorities said that the National Civil Defense's warning platform was taken offline after being targeted by a likely hacker attack, and the government is working to restore the tool once all security conditions are reestablished.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/20/americas/brazil-hackers-unauthorized-alert-latam
Topic for discussion: better or worse than (Score:1)
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
and the subsequent explanation that seemed to strongly imply Hawaii put a borderline retarded individual in charge of emergency alerts for the state.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Hawaii_false_missile_alert
Mitigation and diversion (Score:2)
"Brazilian authorities said that the National Civil Defense's warning platform was taken offline after being targeted by a likely hacker attack ...."
Not to be all negative and such, but if they did that, they might be leaving themselves open to another type of attack based on their lack of a warning system. I'm not sure exactly what the warning system is meant to accomplish anyway; if it's something like warning of severe weather, that's one thing; if it's meant to warn the populace to take cover against i
I figured it out (Score:2)
It is a Brazil punk/heavy metal band : [1]https://misantropiahc.bandcamp... [bandcamp.com] Their music and protest embody an aversion to society, with lyrics addressing everyday issues as well as social and personal revolution.
This message obviously means the revolution is on baby!
[1] https://misantropiahc.bandcamp.com/album/a-ignor-ncia-uma-ben-o-2
Obligatory leetspeak wiki article for youngsters (Score:3)
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet
Everywhere around the world... (Score:3)
... thousands of Crypto-Bros were endlessly disappointed to learn this opportunity was missed to advertise some Meme-Coin.
Re: (Score:2)
Or that we all just missed the opportunity to create and then pump & dump the meme coin misantropi4