Home » Uncategorized » Farmers in USA are hacking their John Deere tractors with Ukrainian firmware, which seems to be the only way to actually *own* the machines and their software, rather than rent them for lifetime from John Deere.

Farmers in USA are hacking their John Deere tractors with Ukrainian firmware, which seems to be the only way to actually *own* the machines and their software, rather than rent them for lifetime from John Deere.

Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware

A dive into the thriving black market of John Deere tractor hacking.

To avoid the draconian locks that John Deere puts on the tractors they buy, farmers throughout America’s heartland have started hacking their equipment with firmware that’s cracked in Eastern Europe and traded on invite-only, paid online forums.

Tractor hacking is growing increasingly popular because John Deere and other manufacturers have made it impossible to perform “unauthorized” repair on farm equipment, which farmers see as an attack on their sovereignty and quite possibly an existential threat to their livelihood if their tractor breaks at an inopportune time.

“When crunch time comes and we break down, chances are we don’t have time to wait for a dealers… Continue Reading


Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xykkkd/why-american-farmers-are-hacking-their-tractors-with-ukrainian-firmware