Although many people found amusement in viral films of hacked crosswalks displaying fictitious messages, the stunts draw attention to a serious cyber-security flaw in the wireless technology utilized by local government facilities.

On the West Coast, a strange trend has surfaced: crosswalks that have substituted artificial intelligence (AI)-spoofing hoax messages allegedly from influential tech sector figures for conventional pedestrian advice. Although many people consider it to be a lighthearted joke, the movement highlights potentially harmful flaws in contemporary smart city technology that relies on Bluetooth and wireless technologies.

Security experts speculate that the pranks were made feasible using the infrastructure's Bluetooth or Wi-Fi technologies, in conjunction with passwords or pins that may have been left in their default settings, even though none of the targeted countries have disclosed how the breaches happened.

Over half a million crosswalks have been erected in over 1,000 locations, according to Polara, a firm that specializes in accessible pedestrian signal systems. A field service app is used to set up their wireless ped system, which can quickly establish a safe encrypted connection.

Unauthorized people may be able to access a network if any access points used for remote administration are linked to it using default credentials. Additionally, a skilled attacker with the appropriate tools might perhaps alter the crosswalk sound to play a different message if the wireless communication between the buttons and the controller is not properly authenticated or utilizes default keys and passwords.