Firefighter Dies While Trying To Disable Porn On Hacked Billboard
A firefighter died after trying to turn off porn on a hacked billboard.
A Firefighter Fell To His Death While Trying To Disable Porn
Mexico City – A firefighter has died after trying to disable porn from a hacked billboard. Álvaro Jiménez González fell as he worked to disable a porn stream that had been playing on a loop after hackers gained control of the billboard on Friday afternoon.
The hackers targeted the billboard, which is in an area known as San Antonio in the Mexican capital of Mexico City. Passerby’s on the Periferico Sur motorway were shocked as a woman playing with a sex toy appeared on the screen. One motorist captured the footage on his mobile phone and uploaded it, where it quickly went viral.
Authorities scrambled to turn the screen off, fearing it would do harm to the public and cause distraction to motorists. “We know the discomfort of this to passersby, drivers and society in general. Therefore we are investigating the case with authorities,” a spokesman for Carteleras.com, the owner of the billboard company told the news over the weekend.
Firefighters were called in to try and disable the board after they were unable to get control back from the hackers. Álvaro Jiménez González was reportedly unharnessed as he worked on the billboard. He lost his footing according to Noticas MVS and fell.
Paramedics provided emergency medical care on scene and transported the firefighter to an area hospital. Fire Brigade Director Raul Esquival later confirmed that he died from his injuries.
“We deeply regret the death of our colleague Álvaro Jiménez González from the Tacubaya station,”said Raúl Esquivel, director of the local firefighters’ union. “We offer complete support from the firefighters and the government of Mexico State to the family of our colleague.”
According to authorities, this is not the first time hackers were able to gain control of the billboard. In February they managed to get the ‘menu’ of a porn website up on the screen before it was taken down. The incident happened at midnight when there was less traffic.
Group Carteleras has disabled the billboard and sent out a Tweet condemning those responsible. Authorities have strongly urged the company to increase their security to avoid another incident which may cost someone their life.
Tributes continue through Mexico city as people pay their respects to a fallen hero.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Álvaro Jiménez González and all of his brothers and sisters on the fire department. Nuestro mas sentido pesame.
Do you think that the hacker should be charged with murder? We’d like to hear what you think. Please let us know below.
