In a series of incidents in the Bay Area, anonymous hackers manipulated crosswalk signals to broadcast humorous messages impersonating tech giants Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. The Caltrans system was compromised due to unchanged passwords, despite previous recommendations from the manufacturers to update them.
Videos of the prank circulated online in April, showcasing AI-generated messages that played when pedestrians activated the crosswalk buttons in Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto. One message from a Zuckerberg impersonator humorously acknowledged the discomfort caused by AI in everyday life, while a Musk voice offered a Tesla Cybertruck in exchange for friendship.
Similar pranks have also occurred in Seattle, where messages from Jeff Bezos were heard on crosswalk signals. Experts suggest that these incidents stem from basic human oversight rather than advanced hacking techniques, indicating a significant lapse in security protocols.