Hackers breach US’s most extensively used vehicle LPR Company - Perceptics

Perceptics, one of US's most extensively used vehicle LPR (License Plate Reader) company, is reportedly investigating about a data breach when stolen files from it was sent to The Register (i.e. a news site). The company is best known probably for designing licence plate imaging systems that are used at border crossings of US with Canada and Mexico.

Perceptics based in Tennessee prides themselves as "the sole provider of stationary LPRs [license plate readers] installed at all land border crossing lanes for POV [privately owned vehicle] traffic in the United States, Canada, and for the most critical lanes in Mexico".

As per The Register, a hacker using identity of "Boris Bullet-Dodger" claimed that it compromises Perceptics by breaking into its database. The attacker has leaked 65,000 file names along with accompanying directories that includes files containing zip codes, location data, presumed government clients, image files, dates, timestamps and other critical data amounting hundreds of gigabytes of information.

Some of them appear like the directories of software development, covering file types like .htm, .html, .doc, .txt, .asp, .mdb, .rtf, .tdb, .xls, .json, and .tif. The more concerning were the directories like Plateworkbench.rar and Platedatabase.rar, as well as image files that the site speculates can be license plates captures.

Moreover, also among those files were MP3 songs files by the Spice Girls, Stevie Wonder, Cat Stevens and AC/DC, which hints of the possibility that data has been taken from a computer of an individual instead of an exposed share.

The latest directory has the data stamp of May 17, 2019, which not only highlights how recently the data seems to be pilfered but possibly makes it latest and therefore more valuable.

As per The Register, the Tennessee-based Perceptics spokesperson, who was reached by phone, has confirmed that they are aware that their network was compromised. The spokesperson said that biz is currently working with authorities for investigating the incident, and is also alerting the customers who got affected but has declined to go in more detail.

Dov Goldman, Panorays Director of Risk & Compliance, noted that there has been significant risk that the commuters pay for convenience of services, which allow them to drive simply through the tollbooths on roadways.

» SPAMfighter News - 6/14/2019