Two New York Men Accused of Hacking Airport Taxi System and Charging Cabbies to Skip Ahead in Queue

New York authorities have arrested two New York residents for allegedly conspiring with Russian hackers to hack the Dispatch System of John F. Kennedy International Airport so they could control which taxi is called up first, for a fee.

With so many people going in and out of JFK Airport, it’s easy  to see the need for an automated and impartial computer system to call up taxis on a first-come basis. Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman, both 48, are accused of seeking to control the system and charge a $10 fee to prioritize cabbies who paid the tax.

“Beginning in 2019, ABAYEV and LEYMAN explored and attempted various mechanisms to access the Dispatch System, including bribing someone to insert a flash drive containing malware into computers connected to the Dispatch System, obtaining unauthorized access to the Dispatch System via a Wi-Fi connection, and stealing computer tablets connected to the Dispatch System,” explained the New York Attorney’s Office.

“The members of the Hacking Scheme also sent messages to each other in which they explicitly discussed their intention to hack the Dispatch System,” the US attorney added. “For example, on or about November 10, 2019, ABAYEV messaged the following to one of the Russian Hackers in Russian: “I know that the Pentagon is being hacked[.]. So, can’t we hack the taxi industry[?]”

The two people charged in this case allegedly figured out a way to breach the system several times between November 2019 and November 2020, allowing them to alter the system and move drivers to the front of the queue.

The entire operation was popularized through word of mouth, even waiving fees for drivers who brought other cabbies into the discussion. All in all, at the top of their operation, they allegedly enabled as many as 1,000 fraudulently expedited taxi trips a day.

Abayev and Leyman have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.