[sustran] Theft of "intelligence"

[Chris Zegras]

 From Wired (http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52114,00.html)

Crooks Cause Chilean Car Chaos
  By Ricardo Sametband

2:00 a.m. April 26, 2002 PDT
New Yorkers think they have traffic jams, but sorting them out is child's 
play compared to what Chilean commuters awoke to on Thursday -- a morning 
of mayhem and chaos.

In Santiago de Chile, 800 of the city's 1,800 traffic lights went haywire 
after thieves stole 15 PCs and 2 servers from the Unidad Operativa de 
Control de Tránsito ( UOCT), the office that manages the traffic flow of 
the city.

Without the computer system, the traffic lights continued working but at 
their own pace, losing all synchronization between one crossroad and the 
others. Five million citizens were in fear of crossing the streets, whether 
on foot or by car.

The thieves that broke into the offices of the UOCT, late at night last 
Wednesday, seem to have had a good knowledge of the place. They entered the 
building through the kitchen in
the backyard, deactivated the alarm system and disconnected security cameras.

But while stealing the goods, valued at US$90,000, they took their time. 
According to police reports, these peculiar robbers smoked some cigarettes, 
ate a snack, and drank a few cups of joe, taking it easy before leaving the 
scene of the crime.

The motives behind the theft remain unknown.
It was a thorough job: After they loaded the computers into a van, the 
alarm was also taken. The only equipment they left in the UOCT were the 
live cameras that show the way the traffic moves –- or, rather, does not move.

Although police are re-routing vehicles around the city, traffic is far 
from becoming organized.

Long queues of cars were observed all over Santiago, especially in the 
wealthy neighborhoods of the southern and western parts of the city, where 
most of the derelict traffic lights are installed.

Patricio Tambolini, subsecretary of transportation, told the local media 
that drivers should not expect a normal green light until Monday, when 
things may be straightened out. About half of the 800 derelict traffic 
lights were operational by Thursday evening, thanks to a backup version of 
the software that controls the lights, but no word on when the job will be 
completed.

Luckily, this will occur during the weekend, so Santiago should not expect 
even more trouble as the traffic lights synchronization software is tested.

"We thought we had deployed all normal security measures," Tambolini said. 
"You never know if you've covered all security holes until this kind of 
thing happens." He also pleaded to the almost 1 million befuddled drivers 
for some patience and understanding.

In an effort to lower the number of circulating cars and calm down 
bewildered drivers, the authorities are urging citizens to take public 
transportation and the subway, even when buses now take three times as long 
to complete their journey.

Local newspaper La Tercera reported that Javier Etcheberry, minister of 
transport and telecommunications, announced that even though installing a 
back-up traffic control system would be expensive, the government is giving 
the proposal some serious thought.

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Christopher Zegras
Research Associate
MIT * Laboratory for Energy & the Environment * Room E40-468
1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013