Have you heard about these 6 hilarious hacker attacks?

Hackers can use there many skills for all kinds of mischievous things, but sometimes they just want a good laugh. The mentality of a hacker is that of a prankster, and it has been like that since the very beginning. Here are the 6 funniest hacker attacks…

Operation Cupcake

Not all hacks are done by kids living in their mom’s basement. Some come straight from the halls of power in the government and military. Most of them are more on the serious side, but every once in a while a joke sneaks through. British intelligence service M16 took over a radical Muslim preacher’s online magazine and replaced an article on how to create pipe bombs in your kitchen with a collection of different cupcake recipes that were seen on the Ellen DeGeneres show. But if you think about it, wouldn't it be better to be dropping cupcakes instead of bombs?

News 14 Carolina

In 2004 a group of pranksters realized that North Carolina’s News 14 took its on-screen messages from an online message board automatically. This is when they got the bright idea to flood it with childish messages like “Zia Naik’s Urology & Gynecology Clinic – Closed Saturday” and “Roo Roos Cuddly Daycare – Closed Until 11AM” This carried on for almost 3 hours, and although it was juvenile, it was really funny!

Godzilla Road Sign

Majority of devices these days are networked together, this makes it easier for hackers to manipulate them. Here’s what happened in San Francisco in 2014: some determined jokers figured out how to get into an electrical road sign, they then re-programmed the messages to read “GODZILLA ATTACK – TURN BACK!” Luckily, no accidents were caused and drivers weren't fleeing from any giant lizard, but it still caused a lot of confusion.

Britney Spears Twitter

Usually when someone hacks into a celebrity’s social media account they steal as much personal information and pictures  as they can, or they use it to promote their own causes. The prankster who hacked Britney Spears’ Twitter account had other plans. When he took over, he decided to go full on Illuminati on the star, from filling her background with pyramids to tweeting disturbing things like “I give myself to Lucifer every day” and “I hope that the new world order will arrive as soon as possible” Although it is bizarre, it’s still one of the funniest celeb hacks.

Max Headroom

The whole story behind Max Headroom was that he was an out of control artificial intelligence that could easily take over any display. In 1987, he became the face of one of the most memorable TV hacks of all time. One night in November, the broadcast signal of two Chicago stations was cut and a crazy video popped on instead. A man in a Headroom mask was seen ranting; he then dropped his pants and was paddled on the butt with a flyswatter! The deranged video only lasted 90 seconds, but it was long enough to become a hacker legend.

1909 Telegraph Hack

Let’s get in a time machine and go WAY back in time for this one, so you can see that even before computers existed there were hackers! In 1909, a group of mean gathered in the Royal Institution’s lecture hall in London to witness the first-ever display of long-distance wireless telegraph. But when the machine was turned on, it started tapping out an insulting poem about Marconi “diddling the public.” But, why did this happen? Well, the system has been hacked by magician and prankster Nevil Maskelyne.

Since the very beginning hackers have been up to no good, taking over displays and manipulating devices all around the world. These hilarious hacks, when computer's were taken over just for a laugh, will never be forgotten.

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town