ENCINITAS — Electronic road signs across Encinitas have been hacked multiple times in recent months, prompting city officials to tighten security after vulgar and obscene messages appeared on at least one sign.
City officials confirmed Nov. 21 that several portable electronic traffic signs — most of them operated by private contractors — were manually broken into and reprogrammed to display explicit images and phrases.
One city-owned sign was also compromised.
“The City is aware of recent incidents of electronic traffic signs being manually broken into in order to change the display messages to unauthorized phrases,” the city said in a statement. “The locks were intentionally cut off of the keyboard housing and the messages were changed by the perpetrator(s) on-site. The City’s IT systems have not been compromised in any way.”
The tampering comes as Encinitas intensifies its push for safer streets following a series of serious crashes, including the April death of 12-year-old Emery Chalekian in a crosswalk on Encinitas Boulevard. The driver is scheduled to be arraigned on undisclosed charges on Monday in Vista Superior Court.
The city has added roughly a dozen variable message signs in high-traffic areas to slow drivers and draw attention to pedestrian safety.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers said the latest hack — the fourth in three months — crossed a line.
“It’s not funny because it is obscene,” Ehlers said. “People breaking into and editing the content is unacceptable and we have to stop it.”
Ehlers said the sign hacked last week was operated by a subcontractor working near Saxony Road and Leucadia Boulevard. Someone cut the lock, accessed the internal keyboard and changed the message to an explicit image and language.
“The previous example was anti-Semitic in nature. It’s absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
City staff replaced locks on all city-owned signs and ordered contractors to install tamper-proof hardware on their equipment. Additional security measures are also being implemented, Ehlers said, and sheriff’s deputies have been asked to monitor the signs more closely.
“As soon as the City became aware of what was occurring, staff immediately changed the locks on all City-owned electronic traffic signs and added additional security measures,” the city’s statement said. “The incidents were reported to the Sheriff’s Office.”
Councilmember Jim O’Hara, who pushed for more safety signs after Chalekian’s death, said a resident alerted him to the hacked display during a City Council meeting last Wednesday night.
“I would hope certainly these are pranks and not people who intend to harm people or cause harm,” O’Hara told media outlets. “Sometimes they take that edginess and they do stunts or things like this. In this case, they’ve gone a little too far.”
Ehlers said he has directed the city manager to ensure new security protocols “eliminate the problem,” adding that officials are relieved the incidents caused no traffic hazards — just a few startled drivers.
“I believe it’s vandalism. So it’s a serious crime and it must stop,” Ehlers told The Coast News.
