Have you ever wished that hackers would find a way to attack the massive license plate reader databases that the government’s tracking us with?
Well, one guy has figured out how to unleash a denial-of-service (DoS) on the cameras, though it’s not exactly what you’d call “distributed”.
Rather, Long Island, New York resident Stephen Ruth has come up with a very localized attack.
It involves a long pole and a couple of balls. And yes, you can take that multiple ways.
Stick a ball on the end of your pole, reach up and poke that camera so it’s pointing to the sky, and badda bing, badda boom: you just saved taxpayers $10,000.
Well, that’s how much Ruth estimated that he saved people.
Two videos – one posted on 21 August, one on 23 August – show Ruth using a selfie stick to record himself as he uses a painter’s pole to push the red light camera’s face skyward.
His rationale, as he said in one of the viral videos:
This camera has gotten me numerous times for not waiting 3 seconds. Who's to say that I need to wait 3 seconds after I clearly see that there's no one coming in my direction?
That video had been viewed 304,637 times as of Friday morning.
Yes, that’s right – another criminal who posted evidence of his crime on Facebook.
And then bragged about it. On Facebook.
Make no mistake, this guy’s no dim bulb. Ruth knew he would get caught, and he doesn’t care.
Police told local news channel PIX11 that they got wind of the videos and found that Ruth had allegedly tampered with four cameras in Suffolk County, near the Long Island Expressway Service Roads at Hawkins Avenue and near Ocean Avenue.
He’s doing it for the little guys, he said – the people whom New York is bleeding with high taxes.
Here’s what Ruth posted on Facebook on Wednesday:
To all the people thinking "why would he do that? Didn't he think he was going to get arrested?" Of course I knew I would be arrested. I did it for the people who come back from war and get abused by these cameras. I did it because senior citizens are getting these, the same ones that went to war for us. These same seniors live in New York's high cost environment and are being forced out of New York because of its high taxes.
I also did it because every vehicle that you see with an out of state license plate is not receiving these tickets regardless of who they are. These same people live in our state and pay lower insurance rates because their cars are registered out of state under someone else's name.
Ruth was in custody at the 6th Precinct in Selden, Long Island as of Tuesday night, due to appear in court on Wednesday on four counts of criminal tampering.
Image of traffic camera courtesy of Shutterstock.com
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No crime was committed by Ruth. A crime was committed by the government spying on it’s citizen to fraudulently extort money in the name of traffic safety.
Full Metal Jacket
Long ago, in an earlier life, I saw a speed trap that had been “tampered with” by means of a Vektor R4, q.v.
That was before digital law enforcement…let’s just say that 10 rounds of 5.56x45mm NATO had, well, fogged the film.
I suppose some conscript figured he had a better chance of making an excuse about the missing ammo to his Sergeant (or of surreptitiously swapping magazines with an inattentive comrade in the guard hut) than of explaining the speeding offence to a civilian magistrate and the unauthorised use of a pool car to his Colonel.
Tom
I actually drive through one of the intersections where Mr. Ruth “hacked[?]” the camera. My biggest complaint is that the time of the yellow light between red and green is so short that you end up going through a red light unless you slam on the breaks. I even complained about it, to no avail. I don’t think people should run red lights, but give drivers a chance.
Also, at this point cameras are everywhere, in my town you are on camera from the time you enter the CBD to the time you leave, and yet criminals still obliviously commit crimes. But just like the average Internet user who doesn’t understand how little security there is online, criminals don’t seem to think about cameras.
Chris
The short yellow time isn’t a flaw – it’s a revenue-generating strategy.
Spark
These cameras are not about safety. They are just a source of revenue for the governmental entity that had them installed. I agree with the point of either running a red light or slamming on the brakes and the guy behind you rear ends you because he was speeding up to make the light. Sorry camera makers; find another market.
roy jones jr
What’s interesting is that those individuals that are responsible for setting up the traffic lights sequences would notice any huge time difference with their gear and yet I’ve seen lights with wholly irregular patterns than other lights, its ridiculous.
ESOPro
One man’s criminal is another’s freedom fighter. I salute Mr. Ruth. But I’ll bet he could have been more effective by remaining anonymous.