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County approves $23,067 upgrade to outdoor warning siren encoders for added security
Summary
Commissioners authorized spending $23,067 to replace three encoders for outdoor warning sirens to improve encryption, reduce risk of false activation and provide redundancy across sites in Noblesville and Carmel.
Hamilton County commissioners approved $23,067 on April 28 to upgrade three encoders used to activate outdoor warning sirens, aiming to improve security and reduce the risk of false activations.
A representative from Emergency Management (Chad) explained the county’s current system lacked redundancy and that two of three encoders were not operational. He said the upgrade would provide higher‑level encryption, shorten the activation window to prevent malicious duplication of the signal and synchronize encoders to a universal time code system.
Chad said the county had experienced prior attempts to manipulate the system and that the upgrade would help prevent that: “With the previous hardware, it was able to be duplicated for a 90 minute period of time; with this new period that was significantly reduced for a very short period of time.”
Commissioners asked whether cities and towns would continue to maintain their own siren horns; staff confirmed that municipal obligations for physical siren maintenance remain unchanged and that the county’s upgrade addresses the operational security of the encoder/activation system only.
A motion to approve the purchase and installation of the encoders passed by voice vote.
