Instead of the usual “walk” or “wait” instructions ejected from the crosswalk speakers, pedestrians in Silicon Valley wanted auditory surprises over the weekend.
In a series of viral videos posted on social media, crosswalk speakers performed a ridiculous message about billionaire tech giants Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg with confused onlookers laughing and playing Mark Zuckerberg of Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City.
It was unclear who created these messages and how they entered the traffic system. By Monday, the fake voices had either been replaced by the traditional “walk” and “wait” instructions in the hacked crosswalk system, or the audio had been completely disabled.
In one viral video, a woman pressed the pedestrian call button under a sign that was changed to say “Boycott Tesla.” In addition to standard pedestrian instructions, the speakers performed fake mask monologues.
“You know it’s funny, I thought he was just this stupid bag [expletive]”A voice resembling a mask started, apparently referring to President Trump. “But when he comes to know him, he actually is really sweet, kind and loving.”
In the background, a voice replied with Donald Trump: “Sweety, come back to bed.”
At Menlo Park, the home of Meta in Zuckerberg, another viral video showed his spoofed voice greeting the pedestrian.
“Hello, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but the real thing calls me Zach,” the voice began. “As you know, it’s normal to feel uncomfortable or breached as you forcefully insert AI into every aspect of your conscious experience. I just want to assure you. There’s no need to worry.
In Redwood City, city officials said they know four locations with hacked crosswalk signals, Deputy Mayor Jennifer Yamagma said.
“The fraudulent messages have since been disabled and staff are evaluating ways to improve system protection,” she said. “We also want to remind the public that tampering with urban infrastructure, including crosswalk signals, is illegal and poses a safety risk.”
Menlo Park has not had locally controlled crosswalk signals, including audio recordings, and city officials are working with crosswalk signal makers to ensure that city officials are not hacked in the future, city officials say.
However, the Crosswalk signal, run by Caltrans in Menlo Park, was hacked near El Caminoreal and Meta Campus. Caltrans officials said they are in communication with the city and are investigating how the hacks occurred to avoid future issues. Authorities say the crosswalk signal continues to work, but hacked audio is deactivated.
