Dutch Public Transportation Could Be Hacked With Android Smartphone

In April this year, we talked about the possibility of a smartphone being used to hijack a plane, although that does sound rather far-fetched when you think about it, and we ought to have had cases of that happening by now if it were to be true. Well, here we are with reports that the Dutch public transportation system could be hacked using Android-powered smartphones, thanks to a couple of Android apps which could very well crack the RFID chip within fare smartcards.

This bit of information hailed from a report from NOS.nl, where the two free apps are required to enable the cracker to load the card with credit, allowing them to travel without having to fork out a single cent. There was not much detail revealed concerning the nature of the hack, but it seems that the chip which resides within the card is involved in a cat-and-mouse game. The card’s creator, Trans Link, has changed it numerous times, but you will find a veritable tome of information online where tutorials depict how to hack these cards, including the different generations of chips inside. What do you think of this story, does it hold any water for you?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets, Transportation
Tags: Hacking, public transport