Coming Soon: Malware For Your Car

Edited by MatsNorway, 24 June 2013 - 20:29.

http://www.autosec.o...oakland2010.pdf

Read this. It is now more than possible, as in not even terribly difficult it seems, to inject malware into essentially any modern car and take control of the vehicle completely out of the driver's hands while it's rolling. Think about that.

You can kill someone and leave no trace. It'll look like an accident.

Or take over the dot matrix signs on the motorways and post rude messages.

When my car is connected to the Internet, then I might worry - a really tiny amount. Whilst it remains entirely self contained, I won't.

oh my god, car chase would be so boring from now if police have special hacking devices

I haven't yet figured out though why my entertainment / NAV package needs to be on the same canbus as my ESC and engine management system.

http://www.huffingto..._n_3492339.html

link claims the rolling stone writer michael hastings cars crash could have been controlled by others
this is a well known writer who exposed the USA afgan general's mistress story recently

can cars be crashed [ in this case a 2013 250 M-B] by hacking drive by wire systems ?

Yes. But only in very badly scripted Hollywood B-movies. Probably starring Steven Seagal.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to wrap my car in tin foil to stop me being controlled by aliens.

If you see the accident scene, you will momentarily question whether you're turning into a conspiracy theorist. Dude went out Hollywood style.

No witnesses

But seriously, fireball and everything.

Edited by saudoso, 20 July 2013 - 23:13.

Nav needs to talk to vehicle speed and SWA and Ay so it can use dead reckoning when it loses the GPS signal (car parks, tunnels) and for lane detection. ESC needs those channels as well.

ESC can apply the brakes independently of the driver, ABS can disable them, and EPAS could fight the driver's control of the steering wheel, although a sufficiently determined driver could probably still steer the vehicle (you wouldn't, you'd let go).

http://www.bbc.co.uk...nology-23443215

"The researchers used cables to connect the devices to the vehicles' electronic control units (ECUs) via the on-board diagnostics port (also used by mechanics to identify faults)..."

So NOT in fact hacked at all. Of course you can control the car using that method. It wouldn't work for servicing if you couldn't access the ECU. But I doubt if anyone is going to run alongside your car, plug cables into your diagnostics, take control and crash the car, all without you noticing.

In fact there is a 2" Bluetooth interface that goes in that connector which is going to be unnoticed by most of people. Costs $25 and can accessed from any PC or android phone.

Whoever is willing to do such a thing can very well come with some Bluetooth on steroids to make it work from a bigger distances. But there would be proof of foul play left on the car.

"The researchers used cables to connect the devices to the vehicles' electronic control units (ECUs) via the on-board diagnostics port (also used by mechanics to identify faults)..."

So NOT in fact hacked at all. Of course you can control the car using that method. It wouldn't work for servicing if you couldn't access the ECU. But I doubt if anyone is going to run alongside your car, plug cables into your diagnostics, take control and crash the car, all without you noticing.

Edited by Canuck, 27 July 2013 - 14:23.

You missed the point absolutely and entirely.

Kinda sorta related

http://www.guardian....ling-codes-cars

Ha - demonstrated previously on a UAV. That's not a concern either, I mean who would bother hacking a UAV? Or a billionaire's yacht?

Edited by BRG, 12 August 2013 - 17:56.

Well, blow me. Some academics have concluded that you can hack into a computer and take it over! Who'd have ever thought it? If we'd only known, we would have all got ourselves security software to prevent it. Oh, wait a minute, I seem to have been paying Kaspersky for something.

When my car is connected to the Internet, then I might worry - a really tiny amount. Whilst it remains entirely self contained, I won't. I worry rather more (still not a lot) that hackers might subvert the traffic lights control system and cause gridlock. Or take over the dot matrix signs on the motorways and post rude messages.

This is not pie-in-the-sky, universities have demonstrated it.

You were sounding quite convincing until this part.

You are perfectly at liberty to bury your head in the sand if you want to, but don't imply that I am walking around with tinfoil on my head. Universities are in the forefront of investigating what can and can't be hacked, it is very important work.

anyone worried is clearly paranoid.

Edited by BRG, 15 August 2013 - 11:16.