[sbe-eas] UI is hard: Why did Floridians wake up to an early-morning emergency alert?

[Sean Donelan]

Copies of the Florida April 2023 CAP messages are now in the OpenFEMA 
IPAWS archives.

The 4:45 a.m. message (CEM) TEST message looks like an IPAWS proficiency 
test message which should have been sent with the IPAWS Lab Test 
environment. The apparent lab proficiency test included WEA, which would 
have been safe if it was sent using the IPAWS Lab credentials.  But unsafe 
if it was sent using the IPAWS Production credentials.

The 4:51 a.m. message (RMT) Monthly test message looks like an IPAWS 
Production "Live" RMT message, which match previous Florida monthly test 
messages.  It contained the BLOCKCHANNEL CMAS parameter which means it 
would not be forwarded to WEA.

I haven't seen the latest EverBridge software release, and how it informs 
the operator they are using the PRODUCTION (LIVE) or TEST environment 
credentials.  Some vendor UI's change the screen background RED or GREEN 
for PRODUCTION (LIVE) or TEST credentials.  In the past, the User 
Interface difference between Production/Test was a bit subtle.

I didn't see a "Cancel" message in the OpenFEMA IPAWS archive.  I don't 
know if that's because OpenFEMA didn't capture the CAP cancel message or 
a CAP cancel message was not sent.

I still do not see the Florida CEM TEST message in warn.pbs.org alert 
website.  I don't know PBSwarn's connection parameters.  It may have been 
cancelled before PBSwarn polling.