More than half of state’s speed cameras infected by computer virus

MORE than 3000 speed and red light tickets a day are being held by police after the state’s speed camera network was infected by ransomware.

Another 104 of Victoria’s speed cameras are now understood to be infected by computer virus WannaCry. Picture Roger Wyman.

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MORE than 3000 speed and red light tickets a day are being held by police until the state’s road camera system gets the all-clear.

More than 160 of the state’s entire fleet of 280 cameras have been compromised by a computer virus.

Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer said Victoria Police has suspended “tens of thousands of tickets” since putting a hold on issuing fines.

All 280 cameras will now be subject to review by the state’s road safety commissioner.

Mr Fryer said he hoped to see some activity on the investigation in the next fortnight.

“Whilst it’s concerning that it appears that a foreign body has been introduced into our camera network, we’re putting all tickets on hold until a full review is done,” Mr Fryer said.

“We issue about 3000 tickets every single day so we are withholding tens of thousands of tickets.”

Another 104 speed cameras are now understood to be infected by computer virus WannaCry. Picture Roger Wyman.

The infection has been blamed on a maintenance worker employed by camera operator RedFlex.

Mr Fryer said it was his understanding that “clusters of the cameras were connected together” but the system was not linked to a network.

A spokesman for Police Minister Lisa Neville said the Road Safety Camera Commissioner’s investigation has determined that more cameras have been affected by the virus.

“There have now been more than 160 cameras identified as a part of the issue,” she said.

“Details of the incident, including precise number of cameras involved, will be outlined in the Commissioner’s report, which will be made available to the public in the coming weeks.”

The Road Safety Camera Commissioner is examining all aspects of this incident, including all fixed road safety cameras to ensure they are operating accurately and reliably.

The Department of Justice and Regulation has been assisting the Commissioner with his investigation and will await the outcome.

RedFlex operates 150 of the state’s cameras; with Gatso and Jenoptik operating the remaining 130.

@AndyJeffo