Federal Communications Commission	FCC 26-38

STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN BRENDAN CARR

Re: 	Modernization of the Nation’s Alerting Systems; Protecting the Nation’s Communications Systems from Cybersecurity Threats; Wireless Emergency Alerts; Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System, Report and Order, PS Docket Nos. 25-224 and 22-329, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, PS Docket Nos. 25-224, 15-94, 15-91, (June 25, 2026).

Some folks will remember more than a decade ago when television viewers in several states received what appeared to be a real emergency alert.  The alert informed Americans that “the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living.”  Thankfully for those of us that aren’t Daryl Dixon or Rick Grimes, it was not the beginning of a zombie apocalypse.  But it was the result of a cyberattack that allowed bad actors to transmit a false warning over broadcast stations after gaining access to alerting equipment that was protected by default passwords and inadequate security measures.
While the FCC has worked to ensure that vulnerabilities in EAS and WEA are addressed, there have been additional instances of alerting and broadcast systems being compromised or manipulated, including recent attacks that used emergency alert tones and related broadcast equipment to transmit unauthorized content.  These attacks are a stark reminder that threats continue to evolve and our work must continue.
Today’s item builds on our prior work by taking commonsense steps to strengthen the cybersecurity of our emergency alert systems by addressing the very types of vulnerabilities that enabled the zombie-alert incident in the first place.  Requiring stronger password practices, timely software updates, and improved security controls will help reduce opportunities for bad actors to exploit weaknesses in alerting equipment.
Today’s item also tees up additional reforms that can improve the integrity, resilience, and effectiveness of emergency alerts, including improving geographic accuracy of alerts, improving the detection and blocking of duplicate alerts, and removing outdated and unnecessary alerting requirements to help encourage broader participation in alerting.
Thanks to Logan Bennett, Steven Carpenter, George Donato, Leon Kenworthy, David Kirschner, Zoe Li, David Munson, Zenji Nakazawa, Austin Randazzo, Tara Shostek, and James Wiley for their work on this item.