Laid Off Worker Remotely Disables Over 100 Cars
March 19, 2010 · Print This Article
When Omar Ramos-Lopez was laid off from his job at Texas Auto Center last month, he decided to send his former employer a message… about 100 times. It turns out that Ramos-Lopez not only had an intimate knowledge of automobiles, but knew his way around personal, as well — and, in particular, around his company’s online vehicle-immobilization system.
With the help of a former colleague’s log-in information, the newly unemployed Ramos-Lopez logged on to Webtech Plus, a network that grants the Austin based Texas Auto Center employees to remotely disable (or set off horns on) vehicles that haven’t been paid for. Once he gained access to the system, Ramos-Lopez began running down the entire database of clients, in alphabetical order, routinely disabling their vehicles, setting off their horns, and vandalizing their stored records. After customers began pouring into Texas Auto Center with complaints, managers got suspicious, and decided to change the passwords for all employees. The rash of mysterious breakdowns subsided, and police soon traced the hacker’s IP address to Ramos-Lopez, who was slapped with personal intrusion charges on Tuesday.
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Filed under: Vehicle Tech
Laid Off Worker Remotely Disables Over 100 Cars originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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