Thousands of BART Rail Customers Fall Victims to Hackers
A group of hackers attacked a website belonging to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system on Sunday, posting the private information of thousands of BART customers online for everyone to see.
The site, myBART.org, has temporarily been shut down following the attacks, though not before the privacy of about 2,400 of myBART's 55,000 members was violated by the hacking group known simply as Anonymous.
A statement from BART says that most of the posted information consisted of names, email addresses and passwords, though some customers also had their addresses and phone numbers posted. The organization says that no financial information was stored on that particular website and that the main site was not affected.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Nevertheless, they have provided information for major credit bureaus and are encouraging those who were affected to monitor their credit closely.
In addition to sharing private information, Anonymous also posted a symbol of a Guy Fawkes mask over two crossed swords, somewhat resembling a skull and crossbones. Fawkes took part in a failed conspiracy to blow up the British Houses of Parliament in the early 1600s, and his mask is now used as both a symbol of anarchy and of government defiance.
The attack on BART's website comes amid a great deal of controversy for the transit system. In early July, transit police shot and killed a man who was wielding a knife, sparking an outcry from citizens and a call to protest for some.
On Aug. 11, BART, in an attempt to prevent any kind of disruption from protestors, tried to temporarily restrict mobile-phone service on its San Francisco train platforms, only further upsetting customers who felt it was a violation of their rights.
In a statement from Aug. 12, the transit service argued that “a civil disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators.”
Anonymous also called for a protest at BART's Civic Center Station tonight at 5 p.m. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Jim Allison, a spokesperson for the transit service, says that protests might lead the agency to block cell-service again.
“We're going to take steps to make sure our customers are safe,” Allison said. He described shutting down cell-service as “one of the tactics we have at our disposal. We may use it; we may not. And I'm not sure we would necessarily let anyone know in advance either way."
Despite the invasion of privacy, Anonymous believes that they are on the side of the people and doesn't think that safety is BART's concern.
“We are Anonymous, we are your citizens, we are the people, we do not tolerate oppression from any government agency,” the organization wrote. “BART has proved multiple times that they have no problem exploiting and abusing the people.”
Nearly 2 million people use BART's online services every month.
