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New Windscreen Parking Clamp Utterly Defeated, Hacked at University of Oklahoma

If you’re going to use a new, smart parking clamp, you might as well test it properly to ensure it’s not hackable. On the same note, if you’re going to use it in a university campus, check and re-check to make it failsafe.
New parking clamp called The Barnacle 6 photos
Photo: reddit.com / LiQuiD0v3rkiLL
Office building in Hong Kong where a parking spot costs a little under $1 millionThe Ultima complex in Hong Kong houses one of the world's most expensive parking spotsTandem parking spots in Boston sold in 2013 for $560,000Condo building at 42 Crosby Street in Manhattan offered $1 million underground parking spotsBuilding at 66 East 11th Street in Manhattan also offering $1 million parking spot
About a month ago, the University of Oklahoma Parking and Transportation Services decided to roll out a trial with a new breed of parking clamp. Unlike the good ol’ boot, this one, aptly called The Barnacle, fitted over the car’s windshield and connected to an app where the offending driver could pay the parking fees.

It also came with GPS tracking and included a very, very loud alarm that sounded in case you forcefully removed it or tried to drive off with it on the windshield – head stuck out the window, like Ace Ventura.

The trial was supposed to start on January 21, but was canceled entirely on Friday, after backlash from the students and concrete proof (also from them) that The Barnacle was neither as smart as advertised nor as difficult to remove. In fact, based on one Reddit thread, there were several methods to “hack” it and get it off the windshield.

The Barnacle works through suction. According to the initial announcement, it is “mounted with 1,000 pounds of pressure to removal.” When the parking officer finds a car with 3 outstanding parking fines, he inputs the car’s license plate into the clamp and arms it on the windshield. When the driver returns, he can connect to The Barnacle app and make the payment, and will then be sent the code to disarm the clamp. The driver must then drop The Barnacle to a designated drop spot.

Except that it’s much easier to take it off: apparently, all you have to do is run the defroster on the windshield for about 15 minutes and then use a credit card to break off the suction. To avoid getting into trouble, the driver could then just drop it on the ground and be on his or her merry way.

Outraged students didn’t stop here either, as per the same Reddit thread. One of them learned that The Barnacle already found on campus came with a SIM card with unlimited data so he tethered his own phone to the network to get unlimited phone data for several months.

In light of the hack and following complaints from students (who rightfully complained they were starting their adult life in debt because of tuition fees), the University of Oklahoma decided to cancel the program altogether.



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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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