In the article Car Hackers Can Kill Brakes, Engine, and More on Yahoo News, Robert McMilan explains that researches from University of Washington have looked closely into the software used in most cars today and found some scary stuff that is all accessible through the car's diagnostic system port.
"In a paper set to be presented at a security conference in Oakland, California, next week, the security researchers say that by connecting to a standard diagnostic computer port included in late-model cars, they were able to do some nasty things, such as turning off the brakes, changing the speedometer reading, blasting hot air or music on the radio, and locking passengers in the car."
One of the researches; Tadayoshi Kohno describe the risk of an attack to be extremely low, but with the additional features of Microsoft's Sync (we've all seen the ads) and Chrysler's Uconnect (wireless internet for your car) and now GM being able to control the car with an app for your cell. How long until your car will need the same firewall protection as your computer?
Is it just me or was it better back in the day when you could work on your own car without the problem of worrying how the electronics in the car are going to act? Cars that start, park and maybe soon drive themselves. Just a few key strokes to a remote computer under your dash and next thing you know your in the middle of the desert going 120 MPH.
Reminds me of a movie, maybe closer to reality?
[via Yahoo News]
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