It's a funny story, but it has a serious point: Hackers in Illinois and Texas fiddled with electronic street signs to warn motorists about upcoming zombies and raptors. "The latest breach came during Tuesday morning's rush hour near Collinsville, Ill., east of St. Louis. That's where hackers changed a sign along southbound Interstate 255 to read, 'DAILY LANE CLOSURES DUE TO ZOMBIES,'" according to an article by the Associated Press.The U.K.-based Times Online has a photo. And the New York Times has more messages left by the pranksters:

- "Raptors ahead -- Caution"

- "Zombies in area! Run!"

Still more from MSNBC:

- "The end is near!!!!!!!!!"

- "Run for cold climates"

The Times says authorities haven't figured out how the signs were hacked into, but I found a page on the Internet that purports to give instructions -- it's pretty simple. All you have to do is --

Well, actually, I'm not going to give the instructions. And I'm not going to link to the page containing the instructions. If you want to hack your neighborhood road signs, figure it out for yourselves.

I found the incident funny at first, but less funny the more I thought about it.

It's funny now, the first time somebody tries it, but if it gets to be a fad, it will just be annoying. The messages will get less imaginative, too -- right now, they evoke images of zombies and prehistoric creatures, but soon enough they'll just be semi-literate swear-words directed against teen rivals.

Also, the pranks could distract drivers from legitimate hazards and possibly endanger road crews, the Illinois Department of Transportation's Joe Gasaway notes in the AP article. Road departments put up those signs to warn motorists of danger (of the non-undead, non-Jurassic kind). Often, the signs are deployed to keep an eye out for nearby roadside work crews. Highway repair is a dangerous enough job as it is, with cars whizzing by at 50 mph a few inches from your posterior, so there's no need to make it worse.

These alterations to the road signs were, apparently, preventable. Road signs ship with basic security precautions. For example, the control panels for the signs are supposed to be padlocked. Apparently, many road departments are failing to use those precautions. It's easy to scold those government agencies for failing to take basic safety measures, and I suppose it's justified -- but, still, road departments have other things to do. Like, y'know, taking care of the roads.

So in conclusion: Hacking road signs is funny the first time, not funny afterward. Road departments should be more vigilant about basic security precautions with the devices. Hackers should know that it's fun to break the rules, play pranks, explore systems, and leave your mark on the world, but not fun to put other people in danger and create additional work for people spending tax dollars.

Also: Watch out for raptors and zombies.

(Via Dave Winer's FriendFeed).