Lime scooters in Australia hacked to deliver lewd and racist comments

Hackers in Brisbane, Australia, have used the voice boxes attached to electric Lime mobility scooters to attack potential riders with offensive recordings. The hack was reported to affect at least eight scooters, which have since been removed, according to BBC and the Brisbane Times.

"Don't take me around, because I don't like to be ridden," one video showed a Lime scooter saying in an accent. Another said, "Okay, but if you're going to ride my a——, then please pull my hair, okay." The scooters played several different messages, nearly all of which were racist and some sexually offensive, depending on whether a customer was just linking or ending a ride.
"We are aware that eight Lime scooters in Brisbane have had their audio files changed by vandals recording over the existing audio file with inappropriate and offensive speech," Lime public affairs manager Mr. Savanh said in a statement. "It's not smart, it's not funny and is akin to changing a ringtone. It's disappointing that someone has taken this opportunity to poke fun at members of the community in a hurtful way."

The hack comes at a poor time for the mobility scooter company. Currently, Lime is on a trial basis in Brisbane and is under consideration for a possible permanent stay.