On Wednesday, October 3, 2018, around 2:18 pm (Eastern time) the United States Government sent out a Presidential Alert to test out their new National Wireless Emergency System. This alert is designed to inform as many people as possible. This means that when it is sent out it can’t be turned off. The reason for this is because the alert may contain information that is critical to the survival of a person or people. When this alert was sent out the Alert states, “Presidential Alert: THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency System. No action is Needed.” This was their first test of the new system and this massage got out to about 75% of cell phones. I think this is a pretty good number for the first test. This alert is like an amber or weather alert but containing information that is important to the entire nation instead of a specific area. The US Government already have an alert system for television and radio but this is was just added to include cell phones. This test was previously scheduled for September but was rescheduled to October due to FEMA responding to Hurricane Florence(CNN).

  You might be wondering how safe this is? Can an accidental alert be sent out? Is it possible for false information to be sent out? I was wondering this myself. The entire system is password protected. If is then authenticated by two people before the message is sent out. Also, two others read over the message to make sure that is 100 percent accurate and gives the appropriate information on what to do. In my opinion, this system is very secure and a false alarm is extremely unlikely. I think that the government and the FEMA officials have done a wonderful job with the security of everything(CNN).

For me, the biggest question of this alert system is if the government is violating any of your privacy and rights as an American citizen. The government had stated that they only as ask cell phone providers for feedback on how the test went and said that they don’t collect any data or search through a private information. Even though the government says this, I am not so sure if I believe them. They have lied about things like this in the past. I would like to think that the US Government is doing this for the safety of the citizens and that alone, but I’m not so sure about it. I’m sure that part of the reason for them to do sent this system up is to warn us but maybe they also to a peek into someone they might suspect for something (CNN).

Overall, I think that the US Government has designed a strong system. I also believe that they are mostly only using it to warn the public and not to spy on someone. This is just he beginning for the warning system and I think that with time the Government will be able to fine tone the problems and this will become a excellent warning device for the entire United States of America.