[jpp113]

I believe that would only work if the tractor is exposed long enough to WiFi. Do many russian farms have extended WiFi or even WiFi at all?

[17th Miss Regt]

I would imagine that the software has a security check when someone tries to start the machine that works something like this. If the machine has never been started the software contacts John Deere via WiFi and asks for a permanent key. If no response is received the software does not allow the machine to start. If John Deere hears the request it checks to see if the request is legitimate. If the machine was reported stolen then a special pattern is sent that causes the software to erase critical parts of the program.

If the request is legitimate a permanent key is sent and stored on the machine. Once the permanent key is on the machine, when the user tries to start the machine a message is sent to John Deere via WiFi and John Deere responds with a pattern which when combined with the permanent key enables the software to start the machine.

If the permanent key is installed and the machine is subsequently reported as stolen, the pattern sent can be the 'kill' key for the software.

If the John Deere website is down you may be out of luck.

But this might be something like what the manufacturer would implement to take care of machinery security.