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Oyster Card Hack To Be Released, In Good Time
DangerFace writes "A little while ago some Dutch researchers cracked the Oyster card, meaning they could get free public transport around London. The company that makes the cards, NXP, sought and got an injunction to stop the exploit being published, but that has now been overruled by a Dutch judge. The lovely Dutch blokes are holding off from releasing the hack for the time being, to give NXP time to secure their systems."
http://file.sunshinepress.org:54445/milfaire-classic-2008.pdf
http://www.wikileaks.org/leak/milfaire-classic-2008.pdf
http://cryptome.org/mifare-classic.pdf
According to Wikipedia, the same tech is used by Atlanta, DC Metro, the L, and the T.
<Obligatory>We don't have sidewalks in London, you insensitive clod!</Obligatory>
We do a good line in pavements, but prolonged exposure to roadside air in London isn't exactly good for your health.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
You do realise that the Dutch only cracked the Oyster card, and that the card itself is used in London.
Which isn't in Holland.
http://harridanic.com
I've noticed that TranSys terminals have appeared along Caltrain here in the San Francisco Bay Area in the past couple of weeks. I wonder if this means Caltrain is moving to the system - and also if they are using a version with the same flaws?
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...and as the EX-mayor of London, why would he care?
You've obviously never been anywhere else in the UK. London's bus fares are very cheap, and saying the routes are 1/4 the length is just FUD - even if you do have to get 4 buses, it won't cost 4x as much, since a daily fare is capped at £3 (i.e. once you've made 3 journeys you don't pay any more that day). If I want the same here in Oxford it would cost me well over £10 ($20). ...oh, and why exactly would you *expect* having a complicated mess of privatised companies to be any cheaper than one company which is accountable to the public, not it's shareholders?
Horseshit.
If you get on a bus and travel 200 yards with an Oyster Card it does cost 90p(about US$90). However you don't because for most people it's quicker to walk. For longer distance bus trips it costs... 90p. If you travel enough in one day on a Pay As You Go Oyster it maxes out at the cost of the cheapest travelcard for the journeys you have made. Thus you get the cheapest possible tickets without thinking about it. Compare this approach to that of mobile phone companies... The price is competitive with most other cities in the UK. Thus if you made lots of 200 yard journeys every day it wouldn't cost anywhere near 90p a ride.
I've certainly not noticed the distance of bus routes getting any shorter. Generally long distance journeys(>1.5miles) are made by Tube, DLR or Train. The Mayor of London tax is included as part of the Council Tax. House prices around outer London are very high, as some of the areas are really nice compared with some of the grottier inner city areas, thus their Council Tax is higher. Public transport in London is far better than it is in most UK cities. To find better you need to go to a city that has had predominantly Labour councils for the last few decades. A lot of the recent improvements in London are funded by the Congestion Charge.
For a free ride, get a bike...
Minor point, but the congestion charge is £8. Ken Livingstone did indeed propose a £25 charge for the "most polluting" cars (basically anything with an engine displacing over 3 litres or more than 4 years old), but that became one of the main issues in the mayoral elections earlier this year, where Ken was deservedly beaten. The new mayor, Boris Johnson, binned those plans almost as soon as he took office.
-- Note to Mods: There is a good reason there's no "-1 Disagree" option. --
And please don't tell me the readers are expensive.
Those readers are expensive.
They can be had anywhere for nothing.
BS. They're thousands of dollars apiece no matter where you get them.
Lennon/McCartney
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"I can't complain, but sometimes still do..." Joe Walsh
I am assuming that you are implying that the Dutch transport system is expensive. Clearly you have never been to the UK. I live an hour away from London by train, if I were to shop around a little and pick the budget airline flights I could fly to Schipol from Gatwick/Heathrow, get the train to Amsterdam Central and a tram to my hotel for a cheaper price than my train journey from my house to the airport!! It really is *that* bad.
Bollocks. I doubt you could fly to _anywhere_ from London without paying at least 30 quid or so in taxes, surcharges and fuel fines.
I've been living in Zurich for 6 months now, which is about as good as public transport gets, and I wouldn't say London's was especially bad.
Actually the Dutch public transportation was supposed to have the same system nation wide, but they researched it first, and postponed the implementation when they found the security leaks. It's called "OV chipkaart" and it is annoying Dutch travelers since 2006. Here is the (dutch) link: http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht/34971111.
Show a man some news, distract him for an hour. Show a man some mod points, distract him for the rest of his life.
Simple. Not all of the Underground is underground.
In fact, most of the Underground is above-ground (55% of it).
"If you take a walk, they'll tax your feet"
Harrison
I wish there was a "-1 UnTrue".
I've never heard of this practice. I've worked on several downtown development/beautification projects for my hometown and from my experience the sidewalks are always paid for with the same budget that maintains the roadway. In fact, here in my state (FL) the state, city, or county actually owns a minimum of 15ft from the center of the road, which will normally include the sidewalks on most two lane roads. For more info please see this.