Construction signs warn of zombies

Austin drivers making their morning commute were in for a surprise when two road signs on a busy stretch of road were taken over by hackers.

The signs near the intersection of Lamar and MLK usually warn drivers about upcoming construction, but Monday morning they warned of  "zombies ahead."

"I thought it was pretty funny," said UT sophomore Jane Shin, who saw the signs while driving down Lamar with friends Sunday night. "We wondered who did it."

The city of Austin does not own the signs, but they are responsible for the message. The contractor on the construction project owns the signs. A city spokesperson says the hacked messages were only up for a few hours, until the construction project manager saw them during his morning commute and immediately ordered them to be changed back.

"Even thought this may seem amusing to a lot of people, this is really serious and it is a crime and you can be indicted for it and we want to make sure our traffic on the roadways stays safe," said Austin Public Works spokesperson Sara Hartley. "It was a locked sign. There was a padlock that was cut and there is a computer inside those signs that is password protected and so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it so they were pretty determined."

This crime is a class C misdemeanor in Texas and Hartley insists it endangers the public.

"The big problem is public safety," said Hartley. "Those signs are out their to help our traffic on the roadway to stay safe and to know what's coming up."

Austin News cameras caught many drivers slowing down to read the signs as they approached. Some read, "Zombies ahead!  Run for your lives!"

Hartley says the city will discuss more secure safety measures with the manufacturer of the signs.