Seems to me that this goes beyond &quot;bad stuff happens.&quot; To me, that phrase would apply to stuff like using a weak random number generator, or forgetting to check some critical piece of authentication, or accidentally leaving some test code enabled that lets people go where they shouldn&#x27;t. Basically, inattention or oversights or lack of understanding.<p>But here, we have a system that&#x27;s <i>deliberately designed</i> to use, as its only public-facing authentication token, a string of characters literally printed on the car. No amount of inattention or oversight could possibly lead a person to confuse that for secret data, unless they were somehow totally unfamiliar with cars.<p>I have a hard time figuring out how something like this could even ship. To me, this is a lot worse than responding badly when told there is a vulnerability. After all, if you think it&#x27;s OK to use something any passing stranger can read as a secret key, some random internet dude telling you it&#x27;s insecure probably won&#x27;t suddenly make you realize you&#x27;ve got it all wrong.