Digital license plates sold by Reviver, already legal to buy in some states and drive with nationwide, can be hacked by their owners to evade traffic regulations or even law enforcement surveillance.
  • TheFogan@programming.devEnglish
    2·
    13 hours ago

    Umm… correct me if I’m wrong, but why are we acting like license plates is some super duper fancy tech.

    I can hack my physical low tech license plate too… all I need is paper, a color printer and some tape.

    Or if we want to go super high tech and expensive, get an LCD screen or tablet to cover the license plate so you can change it on the fly.

    License plates aren’t some super duper complex thing… people have been forging, and stealing them off of other cars since they’ve come out. The actual hinderance is that if you are pulled over and your license plate doesn’t match the vehicle you are in, you are likely in a world of extra charges.

    • Cephalotrocity@biglemmowski.winOPEnglish
      2·
      8 hours ago

      I see what you’re saying, but IMO the newsworthy information in the article is that there are electronic plates available to begin with. It just seems like such a bad idea from every angle you look at it. The hacking of them is simply stating the inevitable but it is just one issue in a large pile of BS even an honest purchaser would have to deal with using these things.

      • GrindingGears@lemmy.caEnglish
        2·
        51 minutes ago

        I also think they are a bad idea, just for the general scale issue if not anything else. If person X from GeneralScammyHack country wants to steal my plate to sell on the darknet, they have to get on a plane, find my house in suburbia, break into my garage and even then find a proprietary screwdriver or hit the snap on truck before they come. Point is, they can’t hack it. Same with my license, like they need to come take my wallet or I need to lose it. Basically all I have to worry about is Methany peeling my plate off at the 7-11 and committing some super low level impropriety, maybe a local murder or two. I’m not going to find Jason Bourne using my plate in New Jersey or anything like that, and if I do, it’s just odds and quite an involved level of forgery.

        • frayedpickles@lemmy.cafeEnglish
          1·
          36 minutes ago

          I think it’s great because I am pro privacy. Luigi had to leave on a bike because of the surveillance state and still got caught. The more we make their tracking systems useless the better.

  • DjMeas@lemm.eeEnglish
    11·
    22 hours ago

    I don’t even need a hacker for this. I have been getting someone’s violations for the last 3 months despite the offending car having a totally different plate, model, make and color. They still insist it’s my fault somehow.

    • jimbolauski@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      3 hours ago

      You might consider contacting your local news, the mix ups are cleared up real quick once public shaming is involved.

      • HouseWolf@lemm.eeEnglish
        27·
        1 day ago

        The average person thinks digital = magic! and marketers/governments, etc are well aware of that, and will abuse that fact anytime they can.

        Ever had to explain to someone that “the cloud” isn’t a physical cloud in the sky keeping their passwords & nudes safe? I have way too many times.

            • JelloBrains@lemmy.zipEnglish
              1·
              23 hours ago

              Service plans also enable location services and geofencing for wired RPlate users

              So some of the plates do have that function built in and you have to pay monthly to use it.

    • henfredemars@infosec.pubEnglish
      12·
      1 day ago

      It doesn’t even matter if there is a benefit to doing so. It will be hacked because it exists. Simply because it is there.