[By the way, [EMAIL PROTECTED] is being left out of this conversation,
 by his own configuration, because his site censors all emails from me.  --gnu]

> Well, I am presuming that ... the EZ Pass does have an account
> number, right?  And then, the car does have a licence place?  So,
> just correlate the account numbers with the licence plates as they
> go through the gates.

If they could read the license plates reliably, then they wouldn't
need the EZ Pass at all.  They can't.  It takes human effort, which is
in short supply.

> The thing about phones is that they have no licence plates and no
> toll gates.  Oh, and no cars.

Actually, cellphones DO have other identifying information in them,
akin to license plates.  And their "toll gates" are cell sites.

It's not clear what your remark about phones having no cars has to do
with the issue of whether EZ Pass is likely to be widely spoofed.

> What incentive does a miscreant have to reprogram hundreds or
> thousands of other cars???

(1) Same one they have for releasing viruses or breaking into
thousands of networked systems.  Because they can; it's a fun way to
learn.  Like John Draper calling the adjacent phone booth via
operators in seven countries.  (2) The miscreant gets a cheap toll
along with hundreds of other people who get altered tolls.

[Cory Doctorow's latest novel (Eastern Standard Tribe, available free
online, or in bookstores) hypothesizes MP3-trading networks among
moving cars, swapping automatically with whoever they pass near enough
for a short range WiFi connection.  Sounds plausible to me; there are
already MP3 players with built-in short range FM transmitters, so
nearby cars can hear your current selection.  Extending that to faster
WiFi transfers based on listening preferences would just require "a
simple matter of software".  An iPod built by a non-DRM company might
well offer such a firmware option -- at least in countries where
networking is not a crime.  Much of the music I have is freely
tradeable.]

        John

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