Trainwreck in Slow Motion: U.S. Rail Vulnerability Lingers for Over a Decade
When independent security researcher Neil Smith discovered a train vulnerability in 2012, it seemed like a scene from a spy thriller: brake hacking from afar! Fast forward to 2023, and the US still hasn’t derailed this issue, leaving the nation at risk of a real-life trainwreck.
Hot Take:
When it takes longer to fix a train security flaw than it does to build a new railway line, you know there’s a derailment of priorities somewhere. If trains were as slow as this cybersecurity response, we’d still be waiting at the station for the Industrial Revolution to kick off. Welcome aboard this comedy of errors, where even the caboose saw it coming!
Key Points:
- Neil Smith identified a train communication vulnerability in 2012, but resolution is projected for 2025.
- The flaw could enable attackers to remotely control train brakes, posing massive safety risks.
- The current system, FRED, relies on an outdated technology easily compromised with affordable equipment.
- A safer protocol (802.16t) may not be implemented until 2027, leaving trains vulnerable in the meantime.
- CISA and AAR have been slow to act, despite the clear and present danger identified by researchers.
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