Fergie's Tech Blog

Two Los Angeles Traffic Engineers Admit Hacking

Andrew Blankstein writes in The Los Angeles Times:

Two Los Angeles traffic engineers admitted today to hacking into a computer system that controls traffic lights before a job action related to contract negotiations with the city, prosecutors said.

Gabriel Murillo, 39, and Kartik Patel, 36, who worked with the city's Automated Traffic Surveillance Center, each pleaded guilty to a single felony count of illegally accessing a city computer connected to the center.

The illegal access occurred hours before a job action in August 2006 by members of the Engineers and Architects Assn., which represents the engineers who run and maintain the city's traffic center. It took four days to get the traffic control system fully operational afterward and underscored the vulnerability of L.A.'s the complex system.

posted by Fergie @ 11/06/2008 12:58:00 PM