Current Event #2

Source & Full Article: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/hackers-use-alert-system-zombie-warnings-1C8364739

Vocabulary Highlights:

Dead Serious: (American Slang) (adjective) very serious.

The word “dead” is sometimes used to represent the word “very”.

Examples: “I was dead tired, today.”  “He was dead drunk when he left the party.”

Handful: (noun) a small number or amount.

Example: “There were only a handful of students absent from school, today.”

Apprehend: (verb) to take into custody; seize

Example: “The police failed to apprehend the criminal after his crime.”

Prankster: (noun) a person fond of playing pranks

Example: “Tom plays the funniest tricks! He is such a prankster.

Hackers: (noun; plural of “hacker”) a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.

(Additional word: Hacked: To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization)

Example: The hackers hacked into the company’s system and stole all of their client’s banking information.

Story Snippet:

Hackers Use Alert System for Zombie Warnings

Warnings about the zombie apocalypse may seem pretty amusing, but officials say they're dead serious about figuring out who hacked into the nation's public warning system to broadcast such messages in a handful of states.

"Local authorities in your area have reported the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living," the message warned. "Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous."

The subject matter may be humorous, but Greg MacDonald with the Montana Broadcasters Association said the consequences of such attacks on the alert system could be severe.

"This looks like somebody being a prankster, but maybe it's somebody testing just to see if they could do this, to do some real damage," MacDonald said. "Suddenly you create a panic and people are fleeing somewhere and you end up with traffic jams and accidents and who knows what."………………….

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ゾンビの黙示録？楽しそうですね！^^;