EZ Pass and the fast lane ....

[Perry E. Metzger]

John Gilmore <gnu at toad.com> writes:
>> It would be relatively easy to catch someone
>> doing this - just cross-correlate with other
>> information (address of home and work) and
>> then photograph the car at the on-ramp.
>
> Am I missing something?
>
> It seems to me that EZ Pass spoofing should become as popular as
> cellphone cloning, until they change the protocol.

I doubt it.

All the toll lanes that accept EZ Pass that I've seen are equipped
with cameras. These cameras are used to identify toll evaders
already. You point out that doing this would require manual work, but
in fact several systems (including the one used for handling traffic
fees in central London) have already demonstrated that automated
license plate reading systems are feasible. Even without automated
plate reading, storing photographs is also now astoundingly cheap
given how cheap storage has gotten, so if anyone ever complained about
incorrect charges on their bill, finding the plates of the cars that
went through during the disputed toll collections would be trivial.

Unlike cellphones, this is not an instance where it would be easy to
get away with theft by cloning.

Perry

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