Passengers Hack MSC Cruise Ship’s PA System with Fake Emergency Messages

In a story that seems more like a high school prank gone wrong, there could be some serious legal problems for at least six cruise passengers who “hacked” a cruise ship’s PA system late Saturday night.

The captain of a cruise ship will typically make announcements to everyone on board about an upcoming itinerary change, the weather, or even with a lighthearted joke.

But these announcements will not take place very late at night unless it’s an actual emergency or very important information. In this case, the messages were fake and they weren’t even from anyone who worked on the ship.

The 3,500-passenger MSC Divina was on its way to Naples, Italy on July 29 when somehow a group of cruise travelers found a way into the ship’s announcement system.

Midnight Announcements Cause Confusion

Overnight, six passengers staying across two staterooms managed to access the vessel’s internal communication network.

According to news reports, once inside, they began broadcasting fake emergency messages that played across two entire passenger decks.

One of the unauthorized announcements claimed that “the captain has lost control of the ship,” which is obviously not the kind of announcement you want to hear in middle of the night.

The group also said that a shipwreck was imminent and attempted to simulate the chaos that would follow.

Of course, all of this came as a surprise to the crew who were confused as to where the announcement (given in Italian) was coming from.

With thousands of guests sleeping or unwinding in their rooms, the sudden late-night warning created a bit of alarm, but it was probably more confusing than anything else.

A video of the captain’s messages was posted on Facebook:

Quick Technical Response

The ship’s technical team acted quickly to figure out where the “hack” was coming from, and they were able to isolate the breach.

They traced the unauthorized signal through the network and cut the connection to prevent any further problems with the ship’s PA.

Following the incident, Captain Gabriele Russo spoke over the actual PA system to calm any worried passengers.

He assured everyone that the ship was entirely safe, explained that the messages were an unauthorized prank, apologized for the disturbance, and thanked everyone onboard for their cooperation.

Authorities Meet the Ship in Naples

But rather than being sent to the principal’s office, these six cruisers had a different fate waiting for them on shore.

When MSC Divina arrived at its scheduled port call in Naples, Italy, law enforcement officers from the Italian Coast Guard and Border Police boarded the ship to investigate a formal complaint filed by the ship’s master.

All six individuals involved were identified and referred to Italian judicial authorities. They now face legal charges for unauthorized access to a computer system and causing a public alarm.

Because MSC Divina sails under the Panamanian flag, details of the investigation have also been shared with Panamanian maritime authorities.

Meanwhile, technical teams on the ship are working to see how the half dozen passengers were able to pull this off, hoping to avoid any further issues in the future.