Computer Intruder Disables More Than 100 Cars Remotely

Police have filed computer intrusion charges against 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez after he used a web-based vehicle-immobilization system to disable more than 100 cars in the Austin area.

Over a five-day period beginning in late February, drivers found their horns honking continuously or their ignitions disabled, with the only remedy being to remove the car's battery. Texas Auto Center said the complaints stopped after their reset all the passwords to employee accounts.

The Austin Police High Tech Crime Unit then reviewed access logs and traced an IP address to Ramos-Lopez, who was laid off from Texas Auto Center last month. Manager Martin Garcia told Wired's Threat Level blog that Ramos-Lopez got into the system through another employee's account.

The web-based system, called Webtech Plus, is designed to let car dealers get the attention of customers who are behind in payments by turning off the ignition or remotely honking the horn.

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