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Polish PKP train: radio technology without encryption
Photo: Hubert Mathis / ZUMA Wire / IMAGO
Unknown persons have brought 25 passenger trains with radio signals to a standstill in Poland. The trains were stopped on Tuesday around 13.00 p.m. in four regions during the journey, said a spokesman for the state railway company PKP of the PAP news agency. There was no danger to the passengers. All trains would have been able to continue their journey with a slight delay.
In recent days, there have already been several such attacks on the Polish railway network. It serves as the main transport route for Western military aid to Ukraine. So far, however, it is not yet clear whether there is a political background for the attacks.
Police officer among the suspects
On Sunday, police arrested two men in Bialystok in the east of the country. The investigators seized radio equipment from them. The suspects, one of whom is a police officer, are said to have brought five passenger trains and a freight train to a halt on Sunday morning. Individual cases of stopped trains have also been reported from western Poland. During the stops, the Russian anthem is said to have been heard, once a speech by Putin.
Technically, the attack is relatively simple, cybersecurity expert Lukasz Olejnik explained in the daily newspaper »Dziennik Gazeta Prawna« . Many Polish trains still use radio technology without encryption. To bring the trains to a standstill, a tone generator and a radio that transmits a sequence of three tones twice in a row on a certain frequency are sufficient. "Such a signal triggers a sudden stop via a valve in the air brake system."
This vulnerability in the Polish railway system has been known for some time, Olejnik said. Therefore, there have been similar attacks occasionally in recent years.
SWE/DPA