October 31, 2023 at 03:21PM
Between September 2019 and September 2021, two Americans and two Russians allegedly hacked the taxi dispatch system at JFK Airport in New York to sell cab drivers a place in the dispatch line. The Americans have pleaded guilty while the Russians remain at large. The scheme allowed drivers to bypass the queue, resulting in approximately 1,000 skipped trips per day.
During the meeting, the following information was discussed:
– Two Americans and two Russians allegedly compromised the taxi dispatch system at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York between September 2019 and September 2021.
– The two Russian nationals, Aleksandr Derebenetc and Kirill Shipulin, have been indicted by a grand jury for conspiring to commit computer intrusions, but they remain at large.
– The two American nationals, Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman, who were indicted last year, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit computer intrusions.
– US Attorney Damian Williams stated that the defendants conspired to hack into the taxi dispatch system at JFK airport and that cyber hacking poses significant threats to infrastructure systems.
– The scheme aimed to monetize the demand among taxi drivers for airport fares.
– Taxi drivers are required to wait in a holding lot at JFK before being dispatched to airport terminals, and the waiting time is not paid.
– The conspirators used various methods, including bribing someone to insert malware into computers, obtaining unauthorized access via Wi-Fi, and stealing computer tablets connected to the dispatch system.
– They offered drivers the opportunity to skip the queue for a $10 fee and waived the fee for drivers who found others willing to pay.
– According to the Justice Department, the scheme resulted in 2,463 queue cuts in a single week, enabling up to 1,000 trips per day to bypass the queue.
– The American conspirators collected the money from participating drivers and sent payments to the Russian conspirators, disguising them as “payment for software development” or “payment for services rendered.”
– The Russians received over $100,000 for their work.
– If apprehended, the Russians would face charges that carry a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, while Abayev and Leyman face up to five years in prison.
These are the key takeaways from the meeting notes.