One thing, what you probably didn't know about traffic tickets

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Kimmo Huosionmaa

Almost every person, who lives in the cities is using sometimes the bus or train.  The public transportation system is one of the best inventions, what cities have. This system contains trains and busses, and of course, it's not free. When we are using this system, we must buy the ticket for traveling in the public transportation system, and this thing contains one very big danger for information security.


That danger is connected with the customer groups, what have the right to get lower price tickets. In some cases, the handicapped and mental patients have the different group for sale than other users. To getting the sale, we must show that we have right kind of diagnoses or we are students in some kind of high schools or universities. And that can danger our privacy because another reason for sale is needed the doctor's testimony, and that might be the thing, what we would not want to tell anyone else in the whole world.


Public transportation system has the database, what tells about us studies and medical diagnoses very clearly. And if the system would be in the wrong hands, could somebody follow, what bus or train lines the targeted person uses. The sneaker would compile the home address of the traffic user, and the numbers of lines, what this person uses, and then this follower can take information, what kind of bars and other places are found at the road of those busses and trains.


And if the person would go far away from home for the drink, would that bar be some kind of different, or that person has a boy or girlfriend in that area. Who will sit on the bus even hour for the drink, if the place would be nothing special?  That is the question, what the sneaker would ask anytime when that person follows the target.


This means that everybody, who has the device, what can read the data from those electronic tickets can get very personal information in the hands. This is against personal data security because that information is prohibited to deliver even for the doctors, who work in the public health care system, but that information is available for any person, who sees the ticket automat in the busses or subways.


Also, modern mobile telephones can read those traveling cards even, when the wallet is in the pocket, by using official mobile applications, what is meant for checking, is there any money in the card. This might seem very small thing but is violates against the law of privacy. Those traveling cards are also problematic because the card can be programmed to deliver the computer viruses if somebody wants to do that.


This means that somebody must just write the computer virus, and then upload it to the card, and that would cause the collapse of all traffic control system. Only thing, what that hacker must get is the tool, what is used for writing to the cards, and then the tool, what can be used for programming those chips.


And the problem, in this case, is, that this hacker can also make the back gate to that system, and then steal the information of users of public transportation, who have some special reason for getting the sale for using that system. That could be quite embarrassing for people, who are marked for sale groups, what are reserved for some special groups like people, who have mental disorders.