Super Bowl Security Command Center Wi-Fi Password Revealed On National TV

In a high-profile event with unprecedented security demands like the Super Bowl, it’s probably not a good idea to broadcast a secret Wi-Fi password and SSID on national (if not international) television.

Talk about a gameday spoiler. But that’s apparently what happened during a CBS News report on the first-of-its kind security command center at the Super Bowl.

The FanSided website described what happened when this sensitive information — which presumably was updated immediately afterwards — was disclosed to anyone watching on TV:

CBS This Morning was doing a profile on the Super Bowl security (ironically) and in the process accidentally captured a screen which featured a Wi-Fi address and the SSID which could have potentially caused a whole set of problems. I’m pretty sure they took notice of this and made the necessary changes, but I imagine it was quite a process considering they had to tell employees of the new login information. Pretty amazing to think that actually got by production as well and made its way on air.”

The security for tonight’s Super Bowl provided by federal, state, and local law enforcement will be tight to say the least, according to SBNation. “While the NFL isn’t keen on comping thousand-dollar seats for plainclothes law enforcement, the agents we spoke to said that there are ‘hundreds’ of undercover law enforcement mixed in with the Super Bowl crowd at each level, walking through tunnels and open concession areas in attempt to spot odd behavior. That’s in addition to an already large amount of uniformed local police, present in highly visible areas for ‘the psychological effect of deterrence.’

There will be an intense security presence outside the venue as well. “Helicopters will patrol the temporary no-fly zone around New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium Sunday, with F-16s based in Atlantic City ready to be scrambled if an unauthorized aircraft does enter the restricted airspace. Down below, bomb-sniffing dogs will patrol the trains and buses that are expected to take approximately 30,000 of the 80,000-plus spectators to Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.”

Given the magnitude of the security presence, are you surprised that the command center password info was apparently broadcast on national TV?

[image credit: imgur]