Modern cars vulnerable to malicious hacks

[bmer]

05:00 14 May 2010 by Jim Giles


The idea of hackers breaking into your personal computer is alarming enough. But what if they could seize control of your car's control systems while you are driving? Using a laptop and custom-written software, security researchers have hacked into the control systems of a family car, disable the brakes and turn off the engine while the vehicle was moving.

Fortunately, the hack is technically difficult and the risk to drivers is low – for now. But the benign hackers, led by Tadayoshi Kohno at the University of Washington in Seattle and Stefan Savage at the University of California, San Diego, have revealed the details to encourage car makers to make future vehicles more secure.

Computers help control many systems in modern vehicles, from anti-lock braking systems to the timing of ignition. Each system typically has its own dedicated computer controller, which is connected to a network that can be accessed by mechanics via a socket under the dashboard.

Disabled brakes

Kohno and Savage's team tested two 2009 sedans of the same make and model, which they decline to name. In a paper to be presented next week at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in Oakland, California, they describe how they plugged a laptop into the control socket and used software called CarShark to send signals into the car's networks. By sending random commands and observing the effect of each, they were able to decipher the language used by the control systems.

In tests on a disused airfield in Washington state, with the laptop plugged into a control network, the researchers were able to kill the engine and disable the brakes of a car moving at 65 kilometres per hour. They were also able to instantaneously lock the brakes.

Clearly, drivers would notice a laptop plugged into their car's control systems. But it would be possible to achieve the same result with less obtrusive hardware that could be controlled remotely. Still more alarmingly, the researchers say they also took control of a car using wireless signals and operated it via the internet, but would not provide further details of this part of the study.


Full article: Modern cars vulnerable to malicious hacks - tech - 14 May 2010 - New Scientist

 

[Kowalski]

Bullshit.

 

[bmer]

More articles about this same study:

Technology Review: Blogs: TR Editors' blog: Researchers Hijack a Car's Brakes and Engines

Car Hackers Can Kill Brakes, Engine, and More - PCWorld Business Center

Cars? Computer Systems Called at Risk to Hackers - NYTimes.com

 

[Human]

Maybe Toyota ordered this BS to surface...

 

[bmer]

A quote from the New York Times article:

The researchers, financed by the National Science Foundation, tested two versions of a late-model car in both laboratory and field settings. They did not identify the maker or the brand of the car, but said they believed they were representative of the computer network control systems that have proliferated in most cars today.

 

[chonkoa]

Bullshit.

I won't say that. The threat is very real.
Modern cars are controlled by electronics and if you accept this, then the threat is real.
Think of the communication system, with BMW and GM, the telematics of the vehicle can be remotely controlled.
An F1 car can have its engine and chassis dynamics controlled from the paddock by computers.
All it takes is for someone to hack into the control system and voila.

 

[Mr Robert]

This was bound to happen and it is bound to be suported by less than honest manufacturers. Imagine the possible impact of a well placed ad campaign...

Toyota is the company that, seemingly, have cut the most corners but there are others with vulnrable systems, no doubt.