Bus kill switch

Back in 2023 it was reported about the Polish trains that have a kill switch if not being repaired in the manufacturer’s maintenance shops.

Now, The Guardian tells us about Danish authorities in rush to close security loophole in electric buses:

Investigation launched after discovery that [foreign] supplier had remote access to vehicles’ control systems

Note: I removed the nationality of the supplier from the headline, not to hide it, but because this make the headline racist by calling out the origin of the buses as being the problem. It’s not. I didn’t see the Guardian talking about John Deere as “an American company” in the headlines when it comes to talk about right the repair.

This was discovered in Norway where they operate the same buses.

But let’s put it that way: always connected vehicles, this really has to stop. It’s privacy encroaching. It’s a security risk. It’s open to enshittification. It’s against right to repair. The security risk is not even “foreign nation actor” like the article want us to believe, but it is also any kind of hostile.

They “planned to bring in stricter security requirements for future procurements.” but let’s face it. You need stricter regulations from the get go, with very stiff penalties. I doubt this will happen because it would also make government unable to spy. Not sure what kind of event could trigger a change.

And I will repeat. It’s not a Chinese problem. American companies do the same. European companies do the same and even defend it.