Spanish cyberkiosks claim second victim

Middle-aged woman in harrowing terror ordeal

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Rise of the Machines, 11th December 2003 11:38 GMT

Understand how application security is evolving

A 45-year-old Spanish woman has become the second victim within a week of the murderous cyberkiosks which now threaten to reduce the leafy boulevards of Madrid to a smouldering post-apocalyptic wateland.

Just five days after one teenager spent two-and-a-half hours with her finger stuck in a phone box's anti-theft mechanism, exactly the same fate has befallen a fellow citizen of Spain's capital.

The Spanish online media has at last woken up to the threat of killer kiosks, with various reports giving graphic details of the woman's terror ordeal. An El Mundo report states that the "the woman, after making a call from a public telephone, became trapped by the hand after putting it into the coin return slot and triggering the anti-theft system".

She was eventually released after more than an hour when Teleféonica engineers arrived. Firemen were at the scene throughout in case the booth required "percussive persuasion" to give up its hostage. Apparently no such action was necessary in this case.

We believe this is a mistake. Not only should axe-wielding firefighters, backed by enraged madrileños brandishing spanners immediately execute summary mob justice on the homicidal apparatus, but also move without delay to rid the streets of any seemingly-innocenty telephonic device before it has the chance to threaten humanity.

The time to act is now. ®

Understand how application security is evolving