Transport users watchdog Rover and the government’s privacy council both again criticised the introduction of a transport smart card on Tuesday following news that hackers had broken into the disposable card system.

Rover spokesman Rikus Spithorst told BNR radio that trials should be halted immediately. ‘One skeleton after another is coming out of the cupboard,’ Spithorst said. He urged central government to intervene and take over the development process.
On Monday evening it emerged that students from Radboud university in Nijmegen had succeeded in hacking into the disposable version of the new transport smart card (ov-chipkaart).
Smart cards are due to replace paper tickets on all trams, buses and trains in 2009 and are currently being trialed in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
Last week it emerged that German hackers had broken into part of the system used to protect the permanent smart card. That incident is currently being investigated by researchers from the TNO institute.
The privacy watchdog CBP said its research showed the cards broke privacy regulations. Information on passenger behaviour is being stored for almost seven years and personal details are too easy to read, the CBP said.