Los Angeles Traffic Engineers Hacked Traffic Light Computer

November 7, 2008 (by Otto Smyth)

It has been reported by traffic accident attorneys in Los Angeles that two Los Angeles traffic engineers admitted to hacking a computer system that controls traffic lights. They have been identified as Gabriel Murillo and, both admitted to hacking into the computer system that controls traffic lights prior to a job action that was related to contract negotiations.

This occurred in August of 2006 prior to a job action by members of the Engineers and Architects Association that represent the engineers involved in maintaining the Los Angeles City traffic center. The action the men took in hacking into the traffic light computer systems caused the city of Los Angeles to be vulnerable and took four days to repair the system to full operational conditions.

Murillo age 39 and Patel age 36 have both pleaded guilty to a felony count of illegal access of a city computer.

The computer violation occurred on August 21, 2006 approximately between 9:10 and 9:30 a.m., which disconnected four major signal control boxes after a computer command to disconnect the signal control boxes. The intersections involved were World Way at LAX and Sky Way, Alvarado Street and Glendale Boulevard in the vicinity of Berkeley Avenue in Echo Park, 1st and Alameda Street in the downtown area and Cold Water Canon Avenue and Riverside Drive.

According to prosecutors the engineers chose those intersections due to the traffic backups they would cause and the vicinities of each in proximity to freeways and major destinations. They also argued that the red lights would have been extremely long causing gridlock for days.

The men under a plea agreement will have sentencing delayed for one year and they will pay full restitution. They will either serve 120 days in jail or complete 240 hours of community service such as Caltrans and they will have both their home and work computers monitored according to spokeswoman Jane Robinson of the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office.

According to defense attorney James Blatt, the situation should have been handled administratively rather than in court and that both Murillo and Patel are outstanding citizens and have devoted their professional careers to transportation safety in Los Angeles. He also stated that while the men pleaded guilty that sentencing would be for one misdemeanor and a short probation period after which the court would dismiss the misdemeanor count and expunge the men’s criminal records.