Two LA Traffic Engineers Admit to Hacking

Via LA Times -

Two Los Angeles traffic engineers admitted today to hacking into a computer system that controls traffic lights before a job action related to contract negotiations with the city, prosecutors said.

Gabriel Murillo, 39, and Kartik Patel, 36, who worked with the city's Automated Traffic Surveillance Center, each pleaded guilty to a single felony count of illegally accessing a city computer connected to the center.

The illegal access occurred hours before a job action in August 2006 by members of the Engineers and Architects Assn., which represents the engineers who run and maintain the city's traffic center. It took four days to get the traffic control system fully operational afterward and underscored the vulnerability of L.A.'s the complex system.

The breach, reported on Aug. 21, 2006 between 9:10 and 9:30 p.m., involved sending computer commands that disconnected four signal control boxes at critical intersections: Sky Way and World Way at LAX; Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Riverside Drive in the San Fernando Valley; Alvarado Street and Glendale Boulevard at Berkeley Avenue in Echo Park; and 1st and Alameda streets downtown.

Prosecutors argued that the pair picked intersections they knew would cause significant backups because they were close to freeways and major destinations. They said the red lights would be extremely long on the most congested approaches to the intersections, causing gridlock for several days.

Under the plea deal, sentencing will be delayed one year, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. The two must pay full restitution, serve 120 days in jail or complete 240 hours of work with Caltrans or other community service, and must have their computers at home and work monitored.

Defense attorney James Blatt, the lawyer for Murillo, said today that his client had been an exceptional employee and that the matter should have been handled administratively. He noted that despite pleading guilty to a felony, both men would be sentenced to one misdemeanor count and that after a brief period of probation, both sides would dismiss the count and expunge their criminal record.

"This was an emotional collective-bargaining strike situation," Blatt said. "This should have been handled administratively. Mr. Murillo and Mr. Patel are outstanding citizens and have devoted a significant part of their professional lives to transportation safety in Los Angeles County."