Monday, June 27 12:00 AM ET

Pedestrian Hacker Group Releases Crosswalk Button Hacks

Kansas City , MO - A shadowy group of pedestrian hackers called Cross Anytime announced their discovery of several back doors or "cheats" using crosswalk buttons at many intersections. The 3658-item list has been released on their website www.crosswalkbuttonhacks.com.

Tom Walker, leader of Cross Anytime said, "There have always been rumors that these codes existed. Mostly, they're used by politicians and city officials to get an edge in crossing the street. Now, we've freed the codes to the world, and everyone can walk without oppression."

While some of the codes have been obtained through intelligence gathering and analysis of illegally obtained push-button systems, most were uncovered through the brute-force approach. "It's wasn't as easy as it sounds," Walker said. "Contrary to what the kiddies may think, going crazy with clicks doesn't help much. You need to understand the inner workings of the systems - not to mention differences in the push-intervals. For instance, the McKenzie mkI model is based on dual 1.2 second cycles (meaning that long clicks and pauses last 1.2 seconds) while the mkII model uses a 1.5 second cycle (pauses are 1.5 seconds long). And the models look almost identical to the casual pedestrian!"

The most popular hack, which works on most models, is the "Instant Walk." Three short clicks, followed by two long, one short, two long, and three short; turn any crosswalk signal from "don't walk" to "walk" with a matching change in the traffic signals.

Other popular hacks include the "infinite don't walk" and the "halfway across for granny."

Municipal officials across the country worry that the release of these hacks could result in traffic jams and pedestrian confusion. Roger Gorman, Mayor of Kansas City, pleaded for pedestrians to stop using the hacks, "For the love of humanity, can't you people just jaywalk?"

The FBI has shut down the button hack site citing violations of the DMCA and fears that terrorists might use the hacks to "cross the streets of America at will."