In April 2016, media reports of audio hijacking at an FM radio station in the Colorado Rockies surfaced. The hostile takeover of the output heard by listeners involved unsecured Barix devices. The following January, a Spanish-language operation serving Nashville and several LPFMs in various markets Barix Exstreamer security lapses created another hijack. Most recently, default Barix logins at KFNC-FM “ESPN Houston 97.5” on November 23 couldn’t prevent the station’s signal from being hacked, with fake EAS tones airing in a loop along with a not-fit-for-broadcast Country song and mentions of now non-functioning social media channels.
Now, Barix has commented on the nearly decade-long attacks — which led the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau on November 26 to remind broadcasters “to ensure they comply with best practices to prevent cyberattacks.”
