The University of Texas discovered an apparent flaw in its emergency text alert system.
An alert was sent out recently regarding a man carrying a rifle and wearing a gas mask. A few weeks prior, the university was evacuated after a caller claimed to have placed bombs throughout the campus. Both incidents turned out to be hoaxes but the university police department said some students didn’t receive either text message.
The problem was caused by some parents also signing up for the alerts. The system essentially knocked the students’ cell phone numbers out of the system.
The university pointed out that the text alert is only for students and staff and that there are other ways for parents to receive this kind of information.
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