Interesting hacking on 'CycleStreets' app

[Nearholmer]

Still could be, either as a ‘false flag’ irritant, or testing a wrecker-bot. Trouble with cyber-space is you can’t tell who is who, or even where is who.

[DevonDamo]

Still could be, either as a ‘false flag’ irritant, or testing a wrecker-bot. Trouble with cyber-space is you can’t tell who is who, or even where is who.

I suspected the false flag possibility. You gain absolutely zero support for a cause by ruining some harmless navigation apps. But you could harm your opponent by pretending they did it.

Re. citing 'hacking' in the thread title: when I posted, I didn't know it was dodgy OSM submissions, and thought it could be the CycleStreets app being directly targeted. If this is aggravating anyone's OCD, let me know and I'll change it - if the BB software allows.

[Will]

Who would have edited osm to show the detail of the new platforms the path across the platforms via lifts etc. etc? Would that have been done by a public user, or perhaps a member of the build project? How did they get access to the dimensions of the elements of the build?

It is easy enough to get hold of plans for something like this from the Planning Search on the local council website. This plan shows the platforms etc.:

https://pa.bristol.gov.uk/online-applic ... 981067.pdf

It is fairly easy to calibrate a plan (I use a tool called MapTiler Desktop). Once you have a calibrated map you can then trace the outline of the features you want to create a .gpx track and then load that into whatever OSM editor you use.

Will

[gaz]

How did they get access to the dimensions of the elements of the build?IMG_0379.pngIMG_0380.png

Details can be found on the Bristol City Council planning portal ref 21/03523/RA e.g.https://pa.bristol.gov.uk/online-applic ... 981067.pdf

[Will]

How did they get access to the dimensions of the elements of the build?IMG_0379.pngIMG_0380.png

Details can be found on the Bristol City Council planning portal ref 21/03523/RA e.g.https://pa.bristol.gov.uk/online-applic ... 981067.pdf

Link doesn't seem to work anymore (maybe they don't like other sites linking to them). This is a (reduced size) png version of the file:

Will

[simonineaston]

Thanks. Not so very different to how it was back a hundred years ago...

screenshot of old map

[plancashire]

I too noticed some of this vandalism in OSM scale 15 (not other scales) tiles north of Bradford-on-Avon: straight roads in a diamond pattern with Cyrillic text mentioning Putin and Russia. The database was fixed pretty quickly back in April when it happened. Forcing a refresh can help: in my case on a Mac shift+reload (an icon) did the trick. On apps that update less frequently, you'll have to wait for an update to the map data. CycleStreets and Apple Maps both use OSM data, as do many many others.

The way to tell if the data are still there in the OSM web page is to use the question mark inspector tool (bottom-most icon on the right) and click near one of the suspect features. If nothing appears in the left panel of things nearby or enclosing the database has been fixed. Do the refresh trick, maybe clear the browser cache.