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Victoria’s speeding and red-light cameras hit by cyber virus

Got pinged by a speeding and red-light camera in Victoria recently? You could be getting your money back

Victoria’s speeding and red-light cameras hit by cyber virus
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A CYBER virus, dubbed WannaCry, has infected 55 different speeding and red-light camera locations in Victoria.

It has been reported the virus hit locations run by private camera operator RedFlex, which is responsible for most speeding cameras in Victoria, and was only discovered late last week.

The WannaCry ransomware grounded a Honda factory in Tokyo to a halt earlier this week, but police say the camera network has not been compromised.

The Department of Justice and Regulation said the virus was introduced to the system by mistake by a contractor via, apparently by an infected USB stick.

"There is no evidence that this was the result of a cyber-attack," a department spokesperson told The Age.

"It occurred as a result of human error. The remaining sites will be rectified in the next couple of days. A system patch has been applied which prevents the spread of the virus."


Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville has reported the matter to be investigated by the Road Safety Camera Commissioner.

"If the Road Safety Camera Commissioner's investigation finds that people have been incorrectly fined, in line with normal practices, those fines will be withdrawn," she said.

While fines may be cancelled, Neville and Police believe the infected cameras have continued to work accurately.

"While the software virus has impacted 55 camera sites, it has not caused any damage to these sites or the system more broadly,” she added. “All cameras have been operating correctly and accurately during this period."

"Our advice at this stage is that a software virus has been detected, however the camera system has not been compromised," police said in a statement.

"We will look into all incidents detected by the speed and red-light cameras during the time in question as a matter of course. The integrity of the camera system has not been affected.”

Cameron Kirby
Contributor

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