<
https://doctorow.medium.com/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors-bc93f471b9c8>
"Here’s a delicious story: CNN reports that Russian looters, collaborating with
the Russian military, stole 27 pieces of John Deere farm equipment from a
dealership in Melitopol, Ukraine, collectively valued at $5,000,000. The
equipment was shipped to Chechnya, but it will avail the thieves naught,
because the John Deere dealership reached out over the internet and bricked
these tractors, using an in-built kill-switch.
Since that story ran last week, I’ve lost track of the number of people who
sent it to me. I can see why: it’s a perfect cyberpunk nugget: stolen tractors
rendered inert by an over-the-air update, thwarting the bad guys. It could be
the climax of a prescient novella in
Asimov’s circa 1996.
But I’m here to tell you: this is not a feel-good story."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
