Detroit man steals 800 gallons using Bluetooth to hack gas pumps at station

www.fox2detroit.com Detroit man steals 800 gallons using Bluetooth to hack gas pumps at station

Some gas station owners are falling victim to a sophisticated scam.

Detroit man steals 800 gallons using Bluetooth to hack gas pumps at station::undefined

151

You're viewing a single thread.

151 comments

So, how would this work exactly? For curiosity's sake.
- Not sure about this specific pump but this same thing happened in my town several months back and BT was used then too.
  
  When it happened we found out that the pumps at the station in particular (and probably most) have a BT receiver tied to whatever little processor that runs the pump so either a station manager or someone servicing the pumps can access them with the right equipment, make internal adjustments etc.
  
  In the case that happened locally to us. Someone hacked them the same way, then posted to Facebook and other social media sites to come get some free gas, etc.
  
  All the pumps I've seen have a physical key protecting them too. They're supposed to unlock it in the morning and lock it when staff leave for the night. I'd guess these stations didn't do that?
  
  From everything I know about locks in important places, all pumps probably use the same key. You can probably buy that key online. I know this is true for elevators and those boxes for entering buildings, and Crown Vic police cars (and the taxis they've become after being sold), and many other things.
  
  those boxes for entering buildings
  
  do you mean doors ?
  
  I wish he meant doors 😂
  
  Knox Box maybe
  
  It's a lockbox that is mounted near the door that contains a key to said door or an override used by emergency services such as the fire department. The boxes are all keyed the same.
  
  He likely means card readers.
  
  In buildings in some cities, entry ways for big buildings often have an emergency access box somewhere near the door. If police or the fire department need to gain entry, they have a master key that will let them access the lockbox and the lockbox will contain keys to the door.
  
  I can't think of the term for them, but they have a keypad and other buttons to call in and unlock the door, often along with things for postal and emergency services to get in if required.
  
  I don’t know about that part. Just that it was all over the news when it happened here and I later read about the details as to how they did it.
  
  I would have assumed the makers of the pumps would had put into them a little tighter security but then again look at some of these password and other web hacks we routinely see.
  
  There's a convergence of issues. First, and probably foremost, users are idiots. So it has to be able to be operated by a 5 year with a learning disability. Second, implementing security costs money up front. It is cheaper to let the customer deal with the fall out, then do damage control on the cheap, and keep going. Third, users can't be assed to access things that a 5 year old with learning and physical disabilities and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one hand can't access. These are all typical issues stuff is engineered towards. This is why you see this same basic issue crop up over and over again.
  
  You'd be surprised how many times "good enough" is considered "good enough" when it comes to IT and security, even when it's really the bare minimum.

151 comments