A special edition of London Centric looking at what's gone wrong at Transport for London — and whether the disaster recovery is as positive as they say.
It is telling that this story is not in the nationals or on the BBC. Only the human effects of a massive cyberattack, move along, nothing to see. Well done for breaking it
It was certainly on the news but only at the time when it happened - as you say, the fallout impacting actual customers is ongoing but goes unreported.
Yes, my point. A day or two, then no looking at consequences. And endless budget cuts will have compromised online safety in other governmental bodies.
I work near TFL’s HQ and they have very recently increased security at the building to a noticeable degree. Security guards on the door checking IDs before people can enter etc. did someone compromise the building ?
More likely they can’t renew or create new staff IDs so card readers aren’t letting staff through doors, and they have to be manually checked for entry.
Our kids rely on their ZIP cards to get to school, nearly every day a TFL employee on a bus or a tube or at a barrier challenges them as to why “their card has expired” when we can’t actually renew it because of this, 100% correctly named, shitshow.
Whilst it is true that supporting IE6 is probably unnecessary in 2024, I don't see why it would be a problem "per se" - it very-much depends on WHAT is being done.
Personally, I'd be much more concerned that they are using a very old version of jQuery - they look to be using jQuery v1.12.4 on the main site, which is from 2016 and has multiple vulnerabilities.
So TFL is making more revenue in this disaster. The problem is TFL has a monopoly and has had no existential crisis or incentive to invest in their cyber security and technology. TFL makes a massive profit on the underground system. They'll just buy expensive products and services instead.
This is not new for TFL. I know people who started university in September 2023 who ordered travel cards but never received them months later. They have to get on the phone for an hour to TFL to get a refund, and then buy a travel card for a future date. This means customers miss out on the savings they would've had.
It is telling that this story is not in the nationals or on the BBC. Only the human effects of a massive cyberattack, move along, nothing to see. Well done for breaking it
It was certainly on the news but only at the time when it happened - as you say, the fallout impacting actual customers is ongoing but goes unreported.
Yes, my point. A day or two, then no looking at consequences. And endless budget cuts will have compromised online safety in other governmental bodies.
I work near TFL’s HQ and they have very recently increased security at the building to a noticeable degree. Security guards on the door checking IDs before people can enter etc. did someone compromise the building ?
More likely they can’t renew or create new staff IDs so card readers aren’t letting staff through doors, and they have to be manually checked for entry.
At yes, that would make sense
Our kids rely on their ZIP cards to get to school, nearly every day a TFL employee on a bus or a tube or at a barrier challenges them as to why “their card has expired” when we can’t actually renew it because of this, 100% correctly named, shitshow.
Whilst it is true that supporting IE6 is probably unnecessary in 2024, I don't see why it would be a problem "per se" - it very-much depends on WHAT is being done.
Personally, I'd be much more concerned that they are using a very old version of jQuery - they look to be using jQuery v1.12.4 on the main site, which is from 2016 and has multiple vulnerabilities.
So TFL is making more revenue in this disaster. The problem is TFL has a monopoly and has had no existential crisis or incentive to invest in their cyber security and technology. TFL makes a massive profit on the underground system. They'll just buy expensive products and services instead.
This is not new for TFL. I know people who started university in September 2023 who ordered travel cards but never received them months later. They have to get on the phone for an hour to TFL to get a refund, and then buy a travel card for a future date. This means customers miss out on the savings they would've had.