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Hackers Stole 600 Gallons of Gas From Detroit Gas Station, Report Says (gizmodo.com)
Police in Detroit are looking for two suspects who allegedly managed to hack a gas pump and steal over 600 gallons of gasoline, valued at about $1,800. From a report: The theft took place in the middle of the day and went on for about 90 minutes, with the gas station attendant unable to thwart the hackers. The theft, reported by Fox 2 Detroit, took place at around 1pm local time on June 23 at a Marathon gas station located about 15 minutes from downtown Detroit. At least 10 cars are believed to have benefitted from the free-flowing gas pump, which still has police befuddled. Here's what is known about the supposed hack: Per Fox 2 Detroit, the thieves used some sort of remote device that allowed them to hijack the pump and take control away from the gas station employee. Police confirmed to the local publication that the device prevented the clerk from using the gas station's system to shut off the individual pump.
I wager the attendant didn't catch on for a while. Generally nowadays the systems are *supposed* to only dispense if the customer has given payment info or the attendant has turned it on. In fact, most of the time when I go to a gas station now, I've set up payment before I even leave the car and just get out and pump. A station attendant may have a hard time distinguishing someone paying by mobile from someone who made it dispense gasoline otherwise, depending on how it works. Note it says it went on for 90 minutes, then he shut it down, *then* he called police. It also says he "got an emergency kit"., which may have been how he was describing the fuel shut off (his English may not have been the best). Him describing the system being non-responsive doesn't mean he sat there for a long time trying to overcome the situation, it just speaks to his surprise.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Shut down the full station just to fix one bad pump?
Yes! If the other option is to let gas free-flow for 90-minutes, then shut down the whole station. Of course! You think the gas station made $1,800 profit on the functioning pumps during that 90-minutes?
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
The attendant, supervisor or owner park one or more cars to block the pump?