Two US citizens have been arrested and accused of conspiring with Russians to hack the taxi dispatch system at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The dispatch system was hacked by Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman with the help of unnamed Russian nationals. Leyman and Abayev charged drivers a $10 fee for the privilege of moving specific taxis to the front of the line. The members of the hacking scheme offered to waive the fee in exchange for more cab drivers.
Long wait times between trips can be caused by the JFK taxi dispatch system.
The JFK taxi dispatch system is controlled by a computer. The system was introduced to create a fair working environment but wait times can affect a taxi driver's earnings.
Group chats were used by the hackers to communicate with taxi drivers. Leyman and Abayev were accused of approving as many as 1,000 trips a day and transferring at least $100,000 to the Russians for software development.
According to prosecutors, the pair explored a number of ways to hack the system, including paying someone to install malicious software on the system, stealing computer tablets, and accessing the dispatch system without authorization. According to the indictment, members of the hacking scheme discussed their intentions to hack the dispatch system in messages to each other. I am aware that the Pentagon is being attacked. Can we hack the taxis? The Russian conspirator received a message from Abayev.
If they are found guilty of the charges, both men will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The hacking kept honest cab drivers from being able to pick up fares at JFK in the order in which they arrived. Thanks to this Office and the Port Authority, these defendants are facing serious criminal charges for their alleged cyber crimes.
A maximum 10-year sentence in prison is possible for the two men charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
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