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Polish hackers figured out that a train manufacturer had programmed its trains to break down after certain dates, or if they were serviced at another company's workshop.

https://badcyber.com/dieselgate-but-for-trains-some-heavyweight-hardware-hacking/

attn @jon @echo_pbreyer

#trains #RighttoRepairEurope #InfoSec #railway #Poland #Polska


Dieselgate, but for trains – some heavyweight hardware hacking

[this is an English translation of the original article in Polish, we occasionally publish the best cyber stories from Poland in English] A train manufactured by a Polish company suddenly broke down during maintenance. The experts
BadCyber
#Poland #infosec #trains #Polska #railway #righttorepaireurope @Jon Worth @Patrick Breyer
in reply to Benjamin Geer

RustyBertrand
RustyBertrand
• •

"Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence—those are the three pillars of Western prosperity. If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you'd collapse. And while you people are overconsuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster."

-Aldous Huxley, Island

RustyBertrand reshared this.

in reply to Benjamin Geer

Nicole Parsons
Nicole Parsons
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It'll be interesting to see if there's similar coding within Apple phones, Nissan cars and John Deere tractors.
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy348q/every-new-car-is-a-privacy-nightmare-mozilla-researchers-conclude
https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/john-deere-remotely-disables-tractors-stolen-in-ukraine-by/427045
https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/9/23546323/john-deere-right-to-repair-tractors-agreement

It lends credence to why these corporations fought "right-to-repair" and privacy lawsuits so vehemently.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/right-to-repair-roblox-and-the-robots-ruining-christmas-1.6279888/apple-gives-users-the-right-to-repair-so-what-s-the-catch-1.6279988
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/08/apple-right-to-repair-california-bill/675130/

Bricking a customer's items to force the purchase of a new model is built-in obsolescence on steroids


Every New Car Is a 'Privacy Nightmare,' Mozilla Researchers Conclude

Don’t buy a Nissan if you want your sexual activity to remain private.
Aaron Gordon (VICE)

reshared this

in reply to Nicole Parsons

Jon Worth
Jon Worth
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@Npars01 These are not quite the same, in that those are semi-consumer products. This is a question of a B2B relationship gone very wrong, which is rather different.

(Don't get me wrong - what John Deere etc. do is also wrong, but not precisely the same) @benjamingeer @echo_pbreyer

@Nicole Parsons @Patrick Breyer @Benjamin Geer
in reply to Benjamin Geer

Jon Worth
Jon Worth
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I was waiting for a translation of this! Super, thanks!
in reply to Benjamin Geer

Kevin Karhan :verified:
Kevin Karhan :verified:
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I really hope this will have consequences by regulators like @EU_Commission and @BNetzA and @bsi because this is #Sabotage of #PublicInfrastructure with #Malware and should be treated as the #terrorism against #CriticalInfrastructure it is!

https://mstdn.social/@kkarhan/111528207495414359

Kevin Karhan :verified:

2023-12-05 14:09:52


Does any regulator know of this #Sabotage of #CriticalInfrastructure by the #Manufacturer?

I'm shure these trains ain't exclusive to to one country and regulators from @BNetzA and @kartellamt@social.bund.de to @EU_Commission will likely be very interested in such deliberate acts of #AntiCompetiton, #AntiRepair and basically attacks on #PublicTransport #infrastructure done by #NEWAG to fleece customers!

I mean, this is next-level assholeism and makes #JohnDeere and #Apple look like #RightToRepair fans.


#malware #terrorism #sabotage #criticalinfrastructure #PublicInfrastructure @BSI @European Commission @Bundesnetzagentur
in reply to Benjamin Geer

malkavon (he/him)
malkavon (he/him)
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this is a truly fascinating story of corporate malfeasance. Many thanks for sharing the translated account!
in reply to Benjamin Geer

Cymphoni Fantastique
Cymphoni Fantastique
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are you serious? They're doing this for trains? We need to ban planned obsolescence. It's so unnecessarily wasteful, and it lowers the overall quality of our stuff. If they want to make cheaper stuff, they need to invest in r&d to make more cost effective materials and designs.
in reply to Cymphoni Fantastique

Jon Worth
Jon Worth
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@Cymphoni_Fantastique The story is indeed dead serious, yes. Although I am a little reticent to call it planned obsolescence - the plan here was to basically make sure the mid-life maintenance of these trains was done by NEWAG and no one else. For me it's more akin to a kind of espionage than obsolescence (although had it not had been discovered, obsolescence would have been the result) @benjamingeer @echo_pbreyer
@Patrick Breyer @Cymphoni Fantastique @Benjamin Geer
in reply to Pyperkub

Bela Lugosi's Dad
Bela Lugosi's Dad
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@pyperkub but earlier in the article it makes clear that 1 million kilometers is the standard period after which trains are serviced. The point of the code wasn't to make the train "obsolete", but to punish the company who won the service contract, making sure it wouldn't start up again for them.
@Pyperkub
in reply to Bela Lugosi's Dad

Ariaflame
Ariaflame
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@jimbob @pyperkub And to make sure that the manufacturers would be the only ones to service it when it broke down at its standard period.
@Bela Lugosi's Dad @Pyperkub
in reply to Benjamin Geer

crazyeddie
crazyeddie
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"Presumably, it was the software developer’s lack of skill in constructing IFs that made it necessary to wait until November 21, 2022 for the scheduled failure. "

Unethical AND incompetent.

in reply to Benjamin Geer

Kimen 🏳️‍⚧️
Kimen 🏳️‍⚧️
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What happens if this planned obsolescence system malfunctions? It seems like you could end up with a bricked train at any time.
in reply to Benjamin Geer

Iain
Iain
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Ooh, a new and shiny example of kaputtalism: trying to earn money by pretending things are broken!

But seriously, screw this company and prosecute the people responsible for this. Hard.

in reply to Benjamin Geer

Smitty
Smitty
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many instruments, controls and vehicles have been doing the same for years and years.
in reply to Benjamin Geer

MHowell
MHowell
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Makes you wonder in what industry the next revelation of deep #Enshittification will be revealed. Hopefully not #Aviation or #Space
#space #aviation #enshittification
in reply to Benjamin Geer

Pyperkub
Pyperkub
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Some amazing work there, and one company soon to be bankrupt, I'd wager...
in reply to Benjamin Geer

Soheb
Soheb
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i read this yesterday via hacker news. It’s absolutely shocking the level of “drm” that was on the train, but incredibly impressive how the polish hackers effectively decompiled the code. Made me appreciate how there is so much to learn in this software development industry!
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