Viral Video: Helpless e-rickshaw driver complains after miscreants cut off power using mobile apps

The e-rickshaw uproar has hit social media. Viral videos are going around of pranksters shutting down vehicles in the middle of the road using mobile apps. One such video shows a desperate e-rickshaw driver complaining of hours of gridlock and a lost opportunity to earn as miscreants disabled his vehicle using mobile apps. The driver who rented the vehicle said it was his only source of income to help him cover rental and household expenses.

The widespread use of these Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and X tracking apps is not only having a disastrous effect on the livelihood of e-rickshaw drivers but also disrupting traffic on the roads.

Identifying apps to disable e-rickshaw

When an electric vehicle is shut down in the middle of a journey, its passengers, other vehicles on the road and the driver bear the brunt of a few minutes of human pleasure. Those apps allegedly involved were identified as BAT-BMS and Lossigy, HT reported after an empirical study. Both of these apps are available on the Google Play Store. According to the HT report, a deactivated e-rickshaw cannot be reactivated unless the action is returned through the app, not the vehicle’s own key.

How do e-rickshaw shutdown apps work?

These applications exploit a security flaw common to unsecured lithium-ion batteries sold in India. Battery management systems that connect via Bluetooth without password protection can be turned off by any nearby smartphone via these apps.

However, this problem is not universal, as e-rickshaws running on older lead-acid batteries without Bluetooth capability are not susceptible to this scam. In addition, some lithium-powered vehicles use proprietary battery management software that is not compatible with third-party applications. These applications, which allow real-time monitoring of the battery status – voltage, temperature, are “maliciously used” to disconnect the power supply.

Shutting down an E-rickshaw is punishable by 3 years in prison, ₹5 thousand fines, says the official

Speaking to ANI, International Cyber Security Law Commission Chairman Pawan Duggal said, “Today an e-rickshaw is not just an e-rickshaw, it is a computerized system and therefore if it works in digital format, it has some memory functions.

Warning of legal action against the perpetrators, he said: “I am very clear that this is not a game, it is an offense under section 66 read with section 43 of the Information Technology Act 2000 as it is an activity which is done dishonestly or fraudulently where people access the computer system of its e-rickshaw without the consent or knowledge of the owner and is punishable by a fine and imprisonment for 3 years. ₹5 lakhs.”

Uttar Pradesh-based manufacturer Balvinder Singh Sahni, who operates more than 15,000 e-rickshaws in Delhi, said the battery systems were never built with passwords because no one expected the lack of security to cause a breach on this scale. “They were designed to be accessed by service technicians for maintenance and diagnostics, and therefore no password protection was built in,” HT quoted Balvinder Singh Sahni as saying.