Hacking Traffic Lights
Wesley Neelen and Rik van Duijn reverse engineer smart traffic control systems in the Netherlands, spoofing cyclist priority apps to manipulate green lights at will.
Summary
The Rise of Connected Smart City Infrastructure
Municipalities worldwide are modernizing urban mobility by deploying smart traffic lights that dynamically adjust signal timings based on real-time vehicle and cyclist mobile apps.
Reverse Engineering Dutch Intelligent Traffic Systems
Wesley Neelen and Rik van Duijn analyze intelligent traffic light controllers (iVRI) and companion mobile smartphone applications used across the Netherlands.
Forging GPS Telemetry and Priority Requests
Flaws in backend API authentication and a complete lack of cryptographic message signing allowed the researchers to forge cyclist approach signals, turning traffic lights green on demand.
Coordinated Disclosure and Urban Security Governance
The authors recount their disclosure process with Dutch government authorities and outline essential security requirements for connected public infrastructure.
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