All Aboard the Panic Express: How a $500 Gadget Could Brake U.S. Trains!

In modern times when a phone call by "pranksters" can trigger a SWAT response on a rival gamer, a hacker can change highway signs into vulgar billboards and even hack Sesame Street's Elmo's X media account to post disturbing content: you would think that the security of our Trains, Planes and Automobiles would be the first to be protected because of the chaos it would cause if they weren't. 

And you most likely would be wrong. 

Imagine discovering that for 13 years, any tech-savvy mischief‑maker with a $500 software‑defined radio (SDR) could have pulled the emergency brakes on an entire freight train—without so much as a “Do you copy?” to the engineer.

Back in 2012, hardware security researcher 'Neils' (yes, one name, like Madonna, but of malware) observed something truly jaw‑dropping:

Every American train’s End‑of‑Train (EoT) module located on the last rail car—which monitors speed, brake pressure, and other oh‑so‑thrilling stats—relies on a laughably simple BCH checksum for data packets. 

In other words; it's easy to hack!

Because only railroad companies were supposed to use those broadcast frequencies, the designers back in the late 1980s felt there was no need to encrypt or authenticate commands. 

Just lazy if you ask me.

Fast‑forward to the SDR revolution. Neils, tinkering with a $300–$500 rig, realized he could mirror legitimate EoT packets, then issue fake telemetry or even send a “hit the brakes!” command causing the back rail car to slam on the brakes! 

All done wireless and remotely.

“It was like hacking Walkie‑Talkies at summer camp,” Neils explained from his bunker of blinking routers. “Only instead of messing with camp counselors, you could bring 10,000+ tons of cargo to a screeching halt.”

Alarm bells going off? 

Sirens going off? 

Anyone?? Anyone??!!

Moreover, let’s not forget that slamming on a freight train’s brakes is less “harmless hiccup” and more “apocalyptic roller‑coaster gone rogue.” 

A sudden stop can shear wheel-sets off their axles, sending hundreds of tons of steel careening off the rails like a runaway freight‑train rodeo. 

If those rail cars are hauling volatile chemicals or fuel, a derailment can trigger massive explosions and toxic clouds that put every nearby town on high alert and in danger. 

And don’t even get me started on auto-racks loaded with automobiles—each vehicle becomes a projectile, smashing through barriers and turning innocent sedans into deadly missiles. 

In short, it’s the kind of disaster that makes your kitchen gadget hacks look like child’s play—unless you prefer your headlines served with a side of real‑world catastrophe!

But the American Association of Railways (AAR)  just shrugged it off. 

When Neils first raised the red flag, the AAR declared it “purely theoretical”—they’d believe it once some enterprising hacker actually slammed the brakes on 1,100 wheels on steel. 

Meanwhile, the Federal Railway Authority (FRA) couldn’t test the exploit because they “lack a test track facility,” and the AAR—ever the hospitable host—declined to let strangers play with live trains on their property. 

The AAR probably didn't share as a child!....but at least the FRA asked!

Neils then went the academic route: publishing in the Boston Review. 

Even then the AAR countered with a stern op‑ed in Fortune magazine, insisting, “Our trains are safer than a five‑year‑old’s piggy bank.” 

But by 2024, they still had not fixed the issue. 

The AAR’s Director of Information Security boasted that the vulnerable devices were “nearly ready for retirement,” as if that made having a decades‑old backdoor that could derail a 10,000+ ton "Rolling Hammer" somehow quaint!

Enter CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency).

Waving its official advisory like a referee’s yellow card, the CISA  claims “We’ve tried pleading with the carriers,” 

“So now here’s the Public Service Announcement you demanded by ignoring us” 

Panic ensued. 

Suddenly, the AAR announced an update in April 2025—but with a roll-out timeline stretching to 2027, because apparently trains also move at a snail’s pace off the tracks!

So, what does this mean for your morning commute? 

Probably nothing—freight trains aren’t exactly full of weekend cyclists. 

But for the rest of us, it’s a reminder that as long as our gadgets talk un-encrypted, there’s always someone out there waiting to prank the world’s biggest rolling steel tubes. 

And if you think that’s insane—just wait ’til your coffee maker demands a firmware patch before brewing your coffee!

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