Were 100% sure we were acting in the public interest.
Its Newag that should be scared, not us.
Dragon Sector was hired by a repair workshop that was stumped by several Newag trains that wouldnt start.
Dragon Sector on stage at a German cybersecurity conference.Screenshot: Chaos Computer Club
After a year of not seeing much progress with the authorities, the train hackers decided to go public.
Hackers found the bricks by comparing the code of working trains to bricked trains using an algorithm.
We didnt intend to become whistleblowers, said Bazanski in an interview with Gizmodo.
Photo: Martyn Jandula (Shutterstock)
Dragon Sector has put Newags anticompetitive practices regarding repairs on an international stage.
Typically, the right-to-repair movement focuses on manufacturers of small electronic devices, like smartphones and computers.
Newag published apaperdenying Dragon Sectors claims on Dec. 19th, but it has since beenremovedfrom its website.
A slide from Dragon Sector’s presentation detailing Newag’s bricking mechanism.Image: Dragon Sector
Theyve never heard of the licenses Newag alleges.
Newag confirmed this figure to Gizmodo independently.
They went on to stand by the claim that repairs make up about 5% of revenue.
Newag’s recent financial statement shared with Gizmodo by an analyst.Image: Newag
The other largest train manufacturer in Poland, Pesa, is not in the repair market at all.
When those trains were being serviced and couldnt start running, this affected people.
There just wasnt enough rolling stock in service.
Allowing trains to be repaired swiftly and in a cost-efficient way likely means fewer delays for riders.
Infractions of the right-to-repair movement often end up hurting end-users the most.
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