1,200 undergrads hung out to dry after jailbreak attack on laundry machines

More than a thousand university students in the Netherlands must continue to travel to wash their clothes after their building management company failed to bring its borked smart laundry machines back online. The Spinozacampus laundry room, which caters to around 1,250 University of Amsterdam students, has remained closed …

[b0llchit]

Ah, yes, they were taken to the cleaners and now the emperor has no clothes.

I wish all the students good luck in laundering efficiently to find the next hole in the IoT washing powder. You know, the holes in IoT will always be there while we usually fix our clothes.

[DancesWithPoultry]

They should be taken to the cleaners and hung out to dry.

[b0llchit]

The stream had already dried because they had dug a hole and now they are coming clean.

[Korev]

It'll come out in the wash...

[alain williams]

The students must be getting shirty

and hot under the collar and want to sock the management company or hit them with a legal suit.

Did the miscreants trouser any money ?

I'll get my coat.

[Ian Johnston]

Any attempt to implement digital payment systems in a university is simply asking for trouble. "Challenge accepted" say a few thousand bright students, simultaneously.

[FirstTangoInParis]

Honestly. Students are going to wash and dry roughly the same amount of stuff once a week. Amortising the cost into university fees and making them free vend will save money because you don’t have to maintain all that IoT payment rubbish.

[Anonymous Coward]

SECURITY!!!

Socialist in aisle 5.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not really, after all, they're suggesting just getting the money from elsewhere.

[mattaw2001]

Err funding the costs of ownership/services from the resources of its users IS socialism....

Err funding the costs of ownership/services from the resources of its users IS socialism. Look at the first paragraphs of Wikipedia/other encyclopedia.

[FirstTangoInParis]

Re: Err funding the costs of ownership/services from the resources of its users IS socialism....

Not socialism. That would mean charging all students for something only some of them would use. ALL students do laundry so it’s actually charging them upfront and taking out the (prone to fail) payment system. Check how many car park payment machines are down when you next park your car (2 out of 3 for me just yesterday).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: ALL students do laundry

This is debatable.

*staggers away holding nose*

[JoeCool]

Re: Err funding the costs of ownership/services from the resources of its users IS socialism....

It's funny that you call this "socialism" when the exact same analysis is done by every capitalist buisness that sells a moderately sophisticated product to a free market.

They call it "pricing strategy".

See also "bundled pricing of <insert fantastical Xaas> "

[Wang Cores]

>Not really, after all, they're suggesting just getting the money from elsewhere.

But you forget this is why troo paytriotz need to BEAT CHINA and the WOKE MOB.

To make capitalism more efficient and less immiserating is now socialism, and you don't want to be a dirty woke pronoun-having red, do you?

[David Pearce]

Until someone spoils it

Inevitably someone will try to run a laundry business for outsiders and spoil the model for everyone

[MachDiamond]

""Challenge accepted" say a few thousand bright students, simultaneously."

Not only that, there can be teams competing against each other rather than a lone miscreant working from a dark basement (as normally illustrated by newsies).

[Philo T Farnsworth]

How are they going to hack if they don't have clean hoodies to wear while rapidly typing on their glowing laptops?

[MachDiamond]

HACK NAKED!

[Pascal Monett]

Laundry machines

For God's sake, can you stop trying to connect every bit of machinery to the fucking Internet ?

[Tron]

Re: Laundry machines

Coin-op laundries have been working fine for years. Digital increases risk. Don't go digital with anything unless there is an enormous heap of reasons to do so.

I guess people have to do stupid things with new shiny stuff until it breaks and they go back to being sensible. Human nature.

[Like a badger]

Re: Laundry machines

"Digital increases risk."

So you say. Back some decades we were students moving out of our rented property. We had an ancient umpteen hand twin tub washer/spinner, and the only digital aspect was the finger used to press the on button. The economics students moving in didn't want to pay for this priceless asset, so we left it for them.

Perhaps they discovered that sadly, some despicable person had used an entirely analogue Stanley knife to put many invisible long cuts in the pump out pipe. Could have been a bit messy, but who knows?

[FirstTangoInParis]

Re: Laundry machines

It’s got to be students. If it was average other hackers, the payment system would have been redirected to them,

Aeons ago, students worked out how to get extra sugar with hot chocolate by pushing an unpublished sequence of buttons on the front. Face the nation’s bright people with a problem they are motivated to solve, and it’s only a matter of time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Laundry machines

In related news, on US gas pumps that show ads, the 2nd button from the top on the right side, unmarked, is often a mute button. The ones that play ads and DON'T have a mute button, I don't visit.

[Jan 0]

Re: Laundry machines

Thanks for the warning. Another reason to go electric:)

[BenDwire]

Re: Laundry machines

And you think that they won't put ads onto the chargers soon? Even worse, they'll probably download onto the car's displays, and be triggered when you're driving near to the burger shop / supermarket / ammo store ...

[MachDiamond]

Re: Laundry machines

"And you think that they won't put ads onto the chargers soon? "

It might not be a very hot ad market since EV owners will often plug their car in and boogie off someplace else for a bit since they are required to stand there in the same they must when filling up with petrol. Any system that took over the car's displays would get roasted for hacking into people's cars.

[M.V. Lipvig]

Re: Laundry machines

IF you can prove the charger did it, when the ad shows up miles down the road.

[Richard 12]

Re: Laundry machines

Wouldn't take long to join the dots.

Couple of days at most

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Laundry machines

“often plug their car in and boogie off someplace else”

Back in the day you did this with petrol as well. Insert nozzle, full stream, click retainer, leave it to auto stop.

Just enough time for a slash. I called it a “splash, slash and dash stop”.

[Benny Cemoli]

Re: Laundry machines

The gas station that I used to go to installed even more obnoxious pumps. Not only do they play ads on the pump's screen they do not print-out a receipt for your gasoline purchase. They want you to enter your email address so that they can email you the receipt and then spam you continuously thereafter with advertising emails. Of course, they don't tell you that outright but it's in the very small, fine print at the bottom of the screen in a text font that's next to impossible to read. I simply use my smartphone to take a picture of the screen with the final cost as a record of how much was spent if I have to use this gas station,

[MachDiamond]

Re: Laundry machines

"I simply use my smartphone to take a picture of the screen with the final cost as a record of how much was spent if I have to use this gas station,"

I will go into the store and get a paper receipt while pointedly NOT buying any of the overpriced drinks and snacks which, besides wanting your email address, is why the receipt printers aren't more robust. Maybe they're set to "break" when the store isn't very busy. Adding to a long line just creates frustration.

[Patch Wombat]

Re: Laundry machines

thank you

[notyetanotherid]

Re: Laundry machines

> It’s got to be students.

At my uni halls back in the mists of time, the tumble drier coin-op mechanism triggered a cycle slightly before the coin dropped so you could twist it back to start position and add as many cycles as you needed with one coin. And the really tight-fisted would tape a thread to the coin to retrieve it from the slot and not pay at all...

[MachDiamond]

Re: Laundry machines

"And the really tight-fisted would tape a thread to the coin to retrieve it from the slot and not pay at all..."

Way back when dinasours roamed the Earth, I worked for a while doing field service on video games. The coin mechs all had and anti-thread razor blade that would slice the thread if you tried to pull a coin back. There was also a magnet that would grab steel/iron slugs. The downside was that it would jam the mech and had to be cleared manually.

[AlbertH]

Re: Laundry machines

Back in my "mists of time", we worked out a nifty little modification to the payphones in the halls. The button on the wall-mounted 746-type phone marked "press" (that was historically used for "party" lines) was wired to the dial and the coin mechanism: The user (who was "in the know") dialled the number they wanted to call, and when the call was answered and the paytone "pips" began, they pressed and held in the "press" button, and dialled the number of 2p coins they wanted it to register! The payphone still collected a reasonable amount of cash, because not everyone knew about the modification, but almost anyone needing to make a call could do it for free!

[MachDiamond]

Re: Laundry machines

"For God's sake, can you stop trying to connect every bit of machinery to the fucking Internet ?"

I've got a baggie full of quarters I save up for when I need to go to the laundry to use the big machines. The owner of the laundry can sort a jammed coin mech in minutes, but I doubt that he'd be as good figuring out why one machine isn't connecting to the network. There's also the cost of processing payments that will eat up any profits as the base fee is going to be a chunk of the total payment. A coin counter can go through a massive load of coins in minutes making it more of an inventory job before they go back in the bill changers. If the internet connection is down, that's the whole business shut down until it's back up again. If one coin mech isn't working, people will choose another machine and scribble a rude note.

Cash also has some nice side benefits.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Laundry machines

While I generally agree the washing machine for students actually makes sense. Aside from no student has cash these days and the machine tells you when you wash is finished and thus your clothes don't get taken out and dumped (yes I know they can set a timer on their phone). The biggest god send has been the ability to book a slot. Shocking as it is, kids these days seem to care about the hygiene. No wearing clothes till they are standing by themselves. Both mine have at least one wash a week on average plus bedding and towels every other week. And seems to be common with their friends. So sharing 6 machines between 500 students in their halls is no joke about how busy the machines are.

[Anonymous Coward]

Allowing residents to wash their clothes for free.

They clearly missed a money laundering opportunity.

[IGotOut]

Can't afford to offer it for free...

We payed for these ourselves! Think of the poor shareholders.

If it's like UK student accommodation it's an absolute fucking rip off.

One near where I used to live was close on a grand a month for a one room + shower room "studio'.

For the same price a few miles down the the road, I rented a two bed, one bathroom, one shower room, lounge and kitchen in a beautiful grade 2 listed building!

[MachDiamond]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

"If it's like UK student accommodation it's an absolute fucking rip off.

One near where I used to live was close on a grand a month for a one room + shower room "studio'."

Big Clive just did a tour of the accommodations provided to the crew working on the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo (pretty sure that was the show). Spartan to the 5th power. It's considered "student accommodations", but more like prisoner paid incarceration. Parents would do better to club together and buy a property for their kids to live in while at Uni as an investment if they can. With a bit of luck and not too messy of kids, it might pay for itself.

[Giles C]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

It was the military tattoo. Reminded me of the prison in Andor more than anywhere I would want to live.

For a night or two it might be okay, but not for any longer.

[Oneman2Many]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

You aren't going to make any money with rented accommodation in just 3 years never mind the hassle of dealing with students.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

"You aren't going to make any money with rented accommodation in just 3 years never mind the hassle of dealing with students."

If this is a response to my comment, the parents would buy a property for the time their kids are in Uni and sell it when they are out. If they have several kids that will go to the same campus, it can be longer than 4 years. Even if the property is nothing but a break-even after counting all of the costs, that's a fat savings over dorms or renting a flat. It could also be possible for the parents to sell their shares if they like with the agreement that they either need to find somebody else to buy it or the other parents are willing to buy them out. No short-notice bailing out for 3-4 years.

[Oneman2Many]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

In the UK, you get hammered for 2nd properties. Extra stamp duty, potentially council tax though students are exempt and you need a different buy to let mortgage. There are other things to consider but basically its not a cheap option these days.

[Like a badger]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

Indeed. Stamp duty on buy to let is (for the sort of prices of most student properties) is 5% of the cost, that's money you'll never see again. There's usually a mortgage arrangement fee or other upfront charge from the lender around 1-2% of the loan value, legal transfer costs of another £1000 or so. Interest rates on buy to let are generally higher than residential, deposit requirement usually higher. Whilst individually the fees aren't big there's variable requirements to register as a landlord with local government, information commissioner registration, deposit protection scheme registration, plus inevitabilities like insurance and maintenance costs, plus electrical safety and gas safety certificates.

For someone who already has a buy to let property portfolio, then they'll know all that and factor it in, but the days when anyone could easily buy a property, let the sprog and a few mates rent it whilst at Uni, and sell on with a fairly secure profit are gone.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

"In the UK, you get hammered for 2nd properties. Extra stamp duty, potentially council tax though students are exempt and you need a different buy to let mortgage. There are other things to consider but basically its not a cheap option these days."

I'm sure there would be a work around rather than having it as a second property. There can be a holding company owned by the parents and the house rented to the students (paid for by those parents). A stake in the holding company could be bought and sold so if one student drops out, another could be found to fill the gap.

[collinsl]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

But then you have to deal with all the legal requirements for a company being a landlord, which are more onerous than a person being one IIRC, plus you have to pay company taxes etc.

It's not a fun market to be in.

[Apocalypso - a cheery end to the world]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

> Parents would do better to club together and buy a property for their kids to live in while at Uni as an investment if they can

It's a tempting thought but it simply reinforces the situation that University is only for rich, middle-class kids.

At one time, the UK Government was of the belief that attendance at University should be based on merit and not social background. The reality has drifted so far from that objective it's almost like it was never real in the first place. But it would be good if solutions to the problem headed back in that direction, not make it worse.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

"It's a tempting thought but it simply reinforces the situation that University is only for rich, middle-class kids."

It's a tactic for parents that have the credit to pull it off. There are costs, but they don't have to come up with the entire purchase price of the home up front. On a monthly basis, it can be far cheaper than paying for dorms and at the end of the need, the house can be sold to recoup the investment. It's not risk free, but about as close as one can get.

[hoofie2002]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

Student properties are a development goldmine.

In Glasgow, beautiful Victorian buildings which give the city so much of it's streetscape, suddenly go on fire and burn down. You are guaranteed the replacement will be "student accommodation" - some ugly slab-sided collection of rabbit hutches designed to house the full-fee paying overseas students that the Universities now rely on.

The city is being hollowed out from within to the point now that people no longer visit Glasgow City Centre unless they have no other option.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

"In Glasgow, beautiful Victorian buildings which give the city so much of it's streetscape, suddenly go on fire and burn down. You are guaranteed the replacement will be "student accommodation" - some ugly slab-sided collection of rabbit hutches designed to house the full-fee paying overseas students that the Universities now rely on."

That's down to money grubbing city government that's letting that sort of thing get planning approval. For some "college towns", it's not a big deal, but for a large city such as Glasgow, it can radically change the character of an area.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

Taking my youngest to University tomorrow.

First year has to be in their accommodation unless living at home.

£12,000 for the year.

['s water music]

Re: Can't afford to offer it for free...

>> £12,000 for the year.

Yikes, I'm sending number three to a north-midlands uni and they are paying six-and-a-half for a 44 week room in a flat (third-party landlord on a long-established site directly adjacent to the campus). Thta is up from four-and-a-half for a similar room for the eldest who wnet there in 2021 :-(

[segfault188]

They got away with it

It sounds like the miscreants made a clean escape.

Icon? A newly washed lab coat.

[Doctor Syntax]

Think of the benefits. In a few years these students will be going out into jobs where they'll be able to bring an understanding of the problems of making machines internet connected, smarter than they need to be etc. and an appreciating of IT security. A valuable education.

[Mike007]

One student already had a reasonable idea of what they were doing to figure out they just needed to cut a wire/short 2 contacts/whatever the payment terminal does to tell the machine to operate.

1199 students learned that there is no point trying to fight "the system". They will tell people the story about how someone at uni figured out how to wash their clothes for free, so the owners of the machines went and closed the place down. They will tell people about how "the system" would rather nobody wash their clothes than allow such things to be done without payment. They will end this "lesson" with a humourous note about how the company was so incompetent it took them a couple of weeks to close the place down, so at least they managed to get a couple of free washes.

[Daedalus]

Good luck with that. Experience shows that the people who want to sell internet connected stuff don't understand software, networks or security. They just want it developed and sold in minimum time at maximum profit. They don't even care if the software adds no real user value at all. They just want bells and whistles.

[MachDiamond]

"They just want it developed and sold in minimum time at maximum profit. "

Development and security testing costs money and these are MBA's running these companies. Of course they are going to cut every corner. I'm surprised they didn't just get the whole enterprise set up and then sell their equity to dodge any long term risk the same way other ventures do it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Students want clean clothes? How times change.

[MachDiamond]

"Students want clean clothes? How times change."

All of the women I've dated (even very short term relationships) were keen on hygiene. Unbathed and in grungy clothes would lead to lonely nights and weekends.

[M.V. Lipvig]

As it should be.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes they have, mine do at least one wash a week, bedding and towels changed every other week. Even separate lights and darks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly!

The “Young Ones” was a student documentary.

[Anonymous Coward]

That...

Stinks...

[Dr_Bingley]

A bit of context: DUWO is a non-profit organisation which provides student housing in a number of Dutch cities. It is NOT a commercial entity with 'shareholders' as one of the posters suggested.

[Like a badger]

Sorry, we're having fun with this, and (respectfully) facts can just FOAD.

[that one in the corner]

> It is NOT a commercial entity with 'shareholders' as one of the posters suggested.

Well, obviously, otherwise

>> Management company Duwo kept the room open, allowing students to capitalize on the free washing services, for a few weeks

would never have happened.

[MachDiamond]

"A bit of context: DUWO is a non-profit organisation which provides student housing in a number of Dutch cities. It is NOT a commercial entity with 'shareholders' as one of the posters suggested."

Even not-for-profit entities need to be run as a business. If they can't provide the service they are contracted for or hold a concession from the school to provide, they need to be out on their ear. A for-profit firm charging an extra rusty credit per load is going to be less expensive than students having to cart their unmentionables across town and pay that same price or more.

[JoeCool]

BUT ...

They are not required to withstand abuses from the beneficiaeries for their non-profit efforts.

They can use this as a teaching point for developing a social conscience.

[MachDiamond]

Re: BUT ...

"They can use this as a teaching point for developing a social conscience."

If the parents didn't do that in the first 18 or so years of their lives, good luck.

[Daedalus]

Unfortunately that doesn't change the likelihood of it being run by idiots and skinflints. Sometimes its worse because the top people can be more political or narcissistic and less savvy about money.

[MachDiamond]

"Sometimes its worse because the top people can be more political or narcissistic and less savvy about money."

Or they can be very savvy about money. Not-for-profit doesn't mean the people at the top aren't paid a handsome salary. If they worked for free, it would be a charity which can also be a non-profit, but very very different. The classification is for taxes and means the company is the one not earning a profit or so little that it amounts to the same thing.

[has been]

Temporary workaround

Have they thought of just using an honesty box until they get the systems disinfected?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Temporary workaround

As clearly someone had been dishonest...

[Grogan]

Re: Temporary workaround

Most people would put money in that box. Given trust, people are actually more likely to behave (I tend to operate that way myself... it then becomes a matter of honour and pride). Of course some people would cheat (especially if they didn't have coins or small denominations) but it would indeed do until they figure something out.

[david 12]

Re: Temporary workaround

Honesty boxes are known to work in a variety of different cultures and situations. And after people have honestly put their payments or contributions in the honesty box, it is known that eventually someone will start to come and rip off the contents.

[Richard 12]

Re: Temporary workaround

That's rarer than you think.

A lot of the farms round these parts sell eggs that way.

Sure, they empty the box every day, but the rate of theft is so close to zero that every incident makes the news.

[ricegf]

Re: Temporary workaround

Exactly my first thought!

When I worked at NASA, we had no vending machines. So a cabinet was kept stocked with treats, with a tin can for cash payment and a clipboard and pen on the inside of the door if you didn't have the cash with you.

The stocker would occasionally announce a "free treat per customer" day because we'd sometimes round up payments and the can would get too full of excess cash.

I really missed that when I left.

[lglethal]

Re: Temporary workaround

This works because your in an area requiring credentials to access. So only the people that are supposed to be there can access said area and so everyone acts in the benefit of the group.

A student laundry area is unlikely to be in a secure location which means as soon as the local yobs learn of it, the honesty box will be gone, quicker than you can say the Dutch equivalent of "Blimey!"...

[Richard 12]

Re: Temporary workaround

The student laundry area is inside the accommodation block, and requires an accommodation block pass (smartcard or key) to enter. Or the assistance of someone with same, in which case you're unlikely to have laundry on your mind until the following morning.

It's more secure than most offices, and definitely more secure than most hotel rooms.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Temporary workaround

"When I worked at NASA, we had no vending machines. So a cabinet was kept stocked with treats, with a tin can for cash payment and a clipboard and pen on the inside of the door if you didn't have the cash with you."

My first place was like that.

Upvote for working at NASA - I'd have loved to have worked there.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Temporary workaround

How about a Bucket, Bar of Soap amd some Elbow Grease?

Of course some students would have already gone home for the weekend with a bag of laundry for mum

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Temporary workaround

I never did such a selfish thing. I always went home for summer with all clean clothes and ate very little, got up early, did the dishes, helped round the house...

[Caver_Dave]

Re: Temporary workaround

When my brother lived at home while doing his year placement at a farm as part of his Agriculture studies, he gave our mother a huge box of washing powder for Mothering Sunday!

[Sam 15]

Roasted? Are you sure?

It's not illegal if MegaCorp do it.

It's probably covered in the T&Cs you accept by default when you use their charger.

[Randy Hudson]

Reminds me of when I was a college graduate, and for some reason I too had a firm understanding of the risk of lice infestations.

[Anonymous Coward]

Far canal mate!

It’s the Netherlands.

Surely there’s a canal nearby.

[collinsl]

Re: Far canal mate!

Yes but they tend to be too full of Belgians on inner tubes drinking beer to do any washing in.

[Anonymous Coward]

The Brave New World

Welcome to the Brave New World. No cash just a government (central bank) controlled digital currency, everything will be online and controlled ... and hacked or failing! Cash is not so bad is it? Say the wrong thing on the Interweb, no need to arrest & prosecute, we'll make you smell and dirty instead.

[Caver_Dave]

Digital payments in The Netherlands

I was recently travelling around The Netherlands for a while and tried to use the launderettes at the camp sites.

All three attempts (with 2 different cards tried at each launderette) failed with money taken and no credit added to the machines. None had the option of using coins and all were run by the same Laundry management company.

Said company refused to answer emails and phone calls, and in the end I had to go through bank and credit card company to reclaim the money (on principle!)

Both bank and credit card company said that the Laundry management company had lots of complaints, but they could do little to resolve the issue.

[alex.delaney]

Chocolate Vending Machine

We had a similar (albeit analogue) hack on our 6th form chocolate vending machine in 2002. If you threw a 20p in the slot really fast, it thought it was a quid.

We were then told we now had no money for the yearly social. We lost our out har that year. No lice infections at least!

[Anonymous Coward]

What's wrong with a few physical tokens (or coins) and non-Internet connected washing machines? How can you even exploit the washing machine?

Perhaps the management firm are too cheap to pay someone to empty the coin hoppers?

[Luiz Abdala]

Add arcades to the washing machines.

You play Street Fighter II while you wash your clothes. Offer the arcade as you wash. Added value. If anybody just wanna play the game, the washer becomes available for free.

It's not hard to make people wanna pay for their laundry if they feel they are getting their money's worth.

[ravenviz]

Our vending machine at Hatfield Poly had a bug where if you chose a Toffee Crisp, it gave you your money back!

Toffee Crisps all round!

[Mike Friedman]

Or they could try, now hear me OUT, FIX THE PROBLEM. They've had months to figure out what to do and they'e done basically nothing? That sounds like a them problem not a student problem. They should be withholding part of their rent, frankly. Have these yahoos never heard of security? They were probably hacked by students, TBH. Bet you $20 the password to the machines was "password," and no one changed the default.

And when asked about the problem, they were on vacation? I know Europeans take lots of vacations, but.....when there's a huge problem at work maybe taking a holiday is a problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

A few (over 30) years ago

There was a pay phone in our halls of residence that, with a well aim thump of the fist, would kindly refund your £1. It took a few months for them to realise. Must have cost thousands.

Oddly, there was always a queue for that phone.

Plus ca Change.