Someone hacked Liverpool one digital screen outside a Liverpool shopping center on 29 May and left the following message:
“We suggest you improve your security. Sincerely, your friendly neighbourhood hackers,”
Liverpool One leaders said that it shut down the screen as soon as it was informed about the hack. The photo has been posted on Reddit and also a visitor to the Liverpool shopping centre published the photo on Twitter.
The message was marked “#JFT96”, which is a visible outline of “Justice for the 96”, which is a related to the 96 football fans who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
The advertisements screens are operated by an external company called “Elonex”, which is currently investigating the hack.
Elonex said:
“We can confirm an incident occurred over the weekend on one of the 18 screens we operate at Liverpool One”
Elonex said:
“The incident appears to have been good-natured and not intended to cause offence or disruption, for which we are grateful.”
Various screens at the Liverpool shopping centre have been deactivated, according to cyber-security researcher Kevin Beaumont, whose added that his friend saw the message when it was posted on 29 May.
This hack shows us how systems remained vulnerable to hackers. Yes, it’s just an ad screen, but you don’t know the system behind it.