New Delhi, July 3: Three mobile platforms designed for monitoring lithium-ion batteries have been blacklisted by central authorities after being deployed as unauthorized remote kill-switches against commercial electric rickshaws. The tech-enabled disruptions have caused considerable financial distress for daily-wage public transport operators and triggered severe traffic congestion across major urban centers. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology moved swiftly to take down the programs to protect public transit infrastructure from external interference.
The targeted mobile software was originally intended to help technicians track complex battery parameters such as operational temperatures, electrical current, voltage levels, and overall cell health. IT Secretary S Krishnan affirmed, “App stores need to exercise due care; we will take it up with them to see that possibly damaging apps don’t come up.” The regulatory body maintained that standard digital marketplace protocols must prioritize public safety protections before allowing mass access to connected device controllers.
Cybersecurity experts declared that the incident underscores the broader systemic risks associated with unverified components in the growing electric vehicle landscape. Investigations showed that the targeted applications, notably Lossigy and BAT-BMS, could effortlessly detect unsecured Bluetooth-enabled batteries within a fifteen-meter radius, allowing bystanders to switch off the vehicle’s discharge function with a single command. State transport authorities are currently examining the physical vehicle stock to mandate improved encryption standards and password protections on all commercial battery units to prevent future exploitation.
