Two Los Angeles traffic engineers have pleaded guilty to charges that they
hacked into the city's traffic control computer as part of a union dispute over
wages.
Gabriel Murillo, 39, and Kartik Patel, 36, have both admitted that they broke
into the Los Angeles Automated Traffic Surveillance Center, which controls
traffic lights in a city with one of the highest rates of car ownership in the
world.
The pair accessed the system illegally and shut down traffic signals at four
critical points in the road network, causing crippling delays. It took four days
to sort out the system and get it working normally.
The hack is thought to have been part of a pay-bargaining procedure between
employers and the Engineers and Architects Association, which represents workers
at the Automated Traffic Surveillance Center. But there is no suggestion that
the union knew about or condoned the men's actions.
Defence attorney James Blatt, the lawyer for Murillo, told Los Angeles
Times: "This was an emotional collective bargaining strike situation that
should have been handled administratively.
"Mr Murillo and Mr Patel are outstanding citizens and have devoted a
significant part of their professional lives to transportation safety in Los
Angeles County."
The two men have been ordered to pay full restitution, and serve 120 days in
jail or complete 240 hours of community work. Their home and work computers will
also be monitored.
The case highlights the problems of employees gaining control of internal
systems during disputes. In August the San Francisco state intranet was hijacked
by a
rogue
systems administrator, which may ultimately cost
a
million dollars to repair.
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