Jakarta drivers got an eyeful recently when a hacker tapped into a public billboard in Jakarta and began streaming a pornographic film from Japan.
The video was up for about five minutes before its power was eventually cut. But the BBC reported that enterprising motorists were quick to capture the moment via mobile phones, and the incident soon spread across social media.
Indonesian police detained 24-year-old IT analyst Samudera Al Hakam Ralial for the prank. He said that he saw login details displayed on the billboard and couldn’t resist the opportunity. However, he claims that the broadcast of the porn movie was inadvertent.
But the situation is no joke when it comes to consequences: He could face up to 12 years in jail and be fined as much as $77,000. Muslim-majority Indonesia has strict laws against “working blue,” even going so far as to block Tumblr and Vimeo for adult content.
"The suspect claims he worked alone," Jakarta Police Chief Muhammad Iriawan told news agencies. "But we are still investigating whether he was working alone, whether he had a particular motive or whether he was just fooling around."
The Electronic Transaction Law carries a maximum prison sentence of six years, while the Pornography Law tops out at 12.
This isn’t the first time that billboards have played host to hacker whims. In 2013, two Serbian pranksters hacked in to play a game of Space Invaders for passersby. That outcome was rather different: Nostalgia for the days of old-school arcade games aside, the owners of the digital sign were actually pleased because, they said, it alerted them to a security hole with no real harm done. In fact, billboard ad company, DPC, gave Ivan Petrovic, 21, and Filip Stanisavljevic, 20, iPad minis to reward their efforts.
Photo © Akura Yochi