Photo: Carfax
Malware infection is believed to be the culprit for a major outage experienced by the vehicle emission system in several states, including Georgia, Wisconsin, Utah, Idaho, Illinois, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
While very little is known at this point about what has caused the outage, it looks like the problems first appeared on March 30 but are still preventing the systems from coming back online at the time of press.
Applus Technologies, the company that developed the vehicle emissions testing platform, confirmed the outage and said it’s actively working on restoring all systems. Still, for the time being, no information can be provided as to when the testing platform could be back online.
“It is imperative that we ensure every component of the program is free from malware, thoroughly tested and operating normally before bringing the program back online. The testing process will involve all of our agencies as well as the station owners who own and operate the computerized workstation equipment used to perform the motor vehicle inspections,” the company says.
Some states, including Georgia, have already announced that vehicle owners who needed to take an inspection these days to renew their vehicle registration would receive a waiver but would be then required to make an appointment as soon as the systems are back online.
At the time of writing, the official website of Georgia’s Department of Revenue is down as well.
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles also provides a grace period for vehicle inspections, estimating that everything would return to normal on Friday, April 9, when all systems will be restored, and service centers resume their operations.
Car owners whose inspection expired and new vehicle owners have until April 30 to pass the inspection, the local officials said.
Applus Technologies, on the other hand, says it’s not sure when all systems would be back online.
“Unfortunately, we cannot provide a timetable. We do know it will not be a matter of hours or days. We will routinely update the return to service status as additional information becomes available,” it said.
No information has been shared on the type of malware that compromised the computers and the hacker group behind the attack.
Applus Technologies, the company that developed the vehicle emissions testing platform, confirmed the outage and said it’s actively working on restoring all systems. Still, for the time being, no information can be provided as to when the testing platform could be back online.
“It is imperative that we ensure every component of the program is free from malware, thoroughly tested and operating normally before bringing the program back online. The testing process will involve all of our agencies as well as the station owners who own and operate the computerized workstation equipment used to perform the motor vehicle inspections,” the company says.
Some states, including Georgia, have already announced that vehicle owners who needed to take an inspection these days to renew their vehicle registration would receive a waiver but would be then required to make an appointment as soon as the systems are back online.
At the time of writing, the official website of Georgia’s Department of Revenue is down as well.
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles also provides a grace period for vehicle inspections, estimating that everything would return to normal on Friday, April 9, when all systems will be restored, and service centers resume their operations.
Car owners whose inspection expired and new vehicle owners have until April 30 to pass the inspection, the local officials said.
Applus Technologies, on the other hand, says it’s not sure when all systems would be back online.
“Unfortunately, we cannot provide a timetable. We do know it will not be a matter of hours or days. We will routinely update the return to service status as additional information becomes available,” it said.
No information has been shared on the type of malware that compromised the computers and the hacker group behind the attack.
Google News