So, reading the article, i'm confused. Because is it making a case for riders to carry a "4g modem" like Vayer wants to have us believe? Or is it saying they are just hacking the Velon device? Or is the "Evenepoel modem" used to intercept the data coming from the Velon transponder? Wouldn't it be easier to simply hack whichever server Velon uses, and do it safely and anonymously from the other side of the world? Without any local hardware? I think hacking an encrypted local signal would be harder than hacking into a server where all the data arrive for anybody in the peloton, not just the guys your man with the modem is riding next to.
From another article, stating this same website as the source, this "coach" devised his theory, because he has noticed wifi networks on his smartphone... That's the entire basis for the speculation. I would like to know if this guy has used a smartphone before and has any knowledge of how wifi can be used "away from home". Any smartphone can be turned into a wifi hotspot, for other devices to connect to. Let's say you have an unlimited data subscription, but your two friends don't, it is possible to have your phone act as a wifi hotspot for their phone, so they can use your unlimited 4G data network on their phone to go online through your subscription. There are cars that have 4G antennas, and wifi hotspots inside the car, so that anybody inside the car can use the internet provided by the car's 4g modem over wifi, because the car has a bigger antenna and better reception with the cell tower. It's even quite possible that the wifi signals are coming from spectators who are using their phones the way i described, to watch the TV footage while they are waiting for the riders to pass by.
So, for arguments sake, let's run with this. In that case the way it works is that the Velon transponder sends the data to a cell tower? Or how does the data travel? It is basically the only explanation i can think of to suggest using local hacking hardware. The modem picks up the encrypted 4G signal that the transponder is sending to a cell tower and relays it to the team car... over wifi? If the team car is behind the peloton, phat chance having a wifi signal travel 300 meters, for instance. Else i have a hard time figuring out how the wifi signals factor into this. Otherwise the modem carried by the rider would simply relay it to a cell tower and there would be no wifi signal used in the process. Furthermore, if Velon finds out this is happening (which they should know very fast) they would just change their encryption, and it's back to square one for whoever is trying to hack the data.
One more thing that doesn't make sense to me, is why they wouldn't put the hacking software onto a cellphone, which likely has more processing power and also has 4G and wifi, and would look a lot less conspicuous to carry around. Most Android phones can be used to put anything on, it's basically a Linux branch and the official OS can be overwritten and the interface can be made to look like any phone interface.
Any input from somebody with more knowledge on the subject is greatly appreciated.
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