Polish police yesterday arrested a 14-year-old schoolboy
for endangering public safety when he hacked the Lodz tram system
and disrupted traffic.
Using a TV-style remote control he built himself, Adam Dabrowski
allegedly changed the points on the city's tram system. This
derailed some tram cars, causing them to crash and injure up to 12
passengers.
A police spokesman said Dabrowski had studied the trams and the
tracks for a long time and had converted the TV control into a
device capable of controlling all the junctions on the line. He had
listed in a school exercise book the best junctions to switch trams
and what signals to change.
Teachers described Dabrowski as a model pupil and an electronics
genius.