Texan accused of disabling 100 cars over Internet
Submitted by cooper11 on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 04:15http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_hacker_sabotaged_cars
By JEFF CARLTON, Associated Press Writer – Wed Mar 17
DALLAS – A man fired from a Texas auto dealership used an Internet service to remotely disable ignitions and set off car horns of more than 100 vehicles sold at his old workplace, police said Wednesday.
Austin police arrested Omar Ramos-Lopez, 20, on Wednesday, charging him with felony breach of computer security.
Ramos-Lopez used a former colleague's password to deactivate starters and set off car horns, police said. Several car owners said they had to call tow trucks and were left stranded at work or home.
"He caused these customers, now victims, to miss work," Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said. "They didn't get paid. They had to get tow trucks. They didn't know what was going on with their vehicles."
Ramos-Lopez was in the Travis County Jail on Wednesday with bond set at $3,000. The Associated Press could not find a working phone number for his family.
The Texas Auto Center dealership in Austin installs GPS devices that can prevent cars from starting. The system is used to repossess cars when buyers are overdue on payments, said Jeremy Norton, a controller at the dealership where Ramos-Lopez worked. Car horns can be activated when repo agents go to collect vehicles and believe the owners are hiding them.
"We are taking extra measures to make sure this never happens again," Norton said.
Starting in mid-February, dealership employees noticed unusual changes to their business records. Someone was going into the system and changing customers' names, such as having dead rapper Tupac Shakur buying a 2009 vehicle, Norton said.
Soon, customers began calling saying their cars wouldn't start, or that their horns were going off incessantly, forcing them to disengage the battery. Norton said the dealership originally thought the cars had mechanical problems.
Then employees noticed someone had ordered $130,000 in parts and equipment from the company that makes the GPS devices.
Police said they were able to trace the sabotage to Ramos-Lopez's computer, leading to his arrest.
Norton said Ramos-Lopez didn't seem unusually upset about being fired.
"I think he thought what he was doing was a harmless prank," Norton said. "He didn't see the ramifications of it."
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I know this is just sci-fi mumbo-jumbo, but lately I have been thinking about our relationships with our cars as a step to transhumanism. That is, the hybridization of man with machine.
How many people, percentage-wise, could function without trouble or interuption completely independent of their automobile?
I'm guessing it's a low percentage.
Add to that the remote disabling feature, and you can see how we're stuck between a rock and a hard place.
While we're getting all philosophical
If you lost your legs someday, you'd still be able to drive as fast as anyone else. That's a cool thought - except the part where you have no legs.
Defend Liberty!
It's actually a good point, not far fetched either
Even before high technology.
People named their cars.
referred to them as "girl", or "baby"
our cars can be in a bad mood, we miss our cars when they are at the shop. Cry when they are damaged...
"I don't endorse anything they say"
~Ron Paul On the 911 Truth movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGyhlNY0y1k
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As someone trained in Zoology, I don't see any biological change without a change in our genetic structure.
But culturally, the hydridization of man with automobile seems like a done deal at this moment in time, in this culture.
Does the possession of an automobile affects one's reproductive success?
Reproductive success
Another good point.
And due to the lack of back seat space in sedans, it goes a long way in explaining the success of the SUV.
"I don't endorse anything they say"
~Ron Paul On the 911 Truth movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGyhlNY0y1k
Reading this article reminds
Reading this article reminds me what some other people have said, to only use older vehicles that don't have the computers or electronic ignition in them, so the car cannot be messed with remotely.
Assuming the system remains in place,
it could be a valuable police-state tool. Your car could be disabled if you enter an unauthorized zone, detectable by the GPS unit. If you are traveling without authorization, they can shut off your engine. If they want to track your "suspicious" activities, they can turn on the GPS tracker. (I'll bet it's harder to disable than your cell phone.)
Anyone know when they began putting these into vehicles and how extensive the practice is?
New Hampshire and Ecuador.
I wonder if remote control can cause runaway acceleration.
Could that explain the Toyota problems?
ultimatecynic
very interesting point
very interesting point
http://www.libertypulse.com
You Know Its funny you said that
Last week I said to my boyfriend that I wondered if it was possible that the acceleration problems on these toyotas could be triggered by some kind of satelite interferance. What's even scarier is what this article said about being able to disable a care so it can be repoed. Isn't that an invasion of privacy. What are the implications of something like this? Do the people who buy these cars know that the dealers are capable of doing this. What happens if there is a family emergency and you have to get to the hospital and you go out and find your car won't start because someone flipped the wrong switch. This is really imcredible.
car loans
Those cars are sold through a car loan, and the contract specifies the remote disable feature.
People sign the contract because they want the loan.
http://FlipFlopRomney.blogspot.com
What happens if you buy a car
What happens if you buy a car in cash. Does it still have the device? And after the car is paid, does the dealership notify customers and remove the device free of charge? If not, I would imagine there could be legal ramifications for installing such a device to vehicles without peoples knowledge.