Hackers Could Take Control of Your Car. This Device Can Stop Them


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There have been several stories posted lately about modern vehicles being hacked and things such as this one Tesla Hacked as part of competition amongst others. This couple of hackers after proving how they could hack vehicles have developed what is probably the first solution to the problem.
 
 
http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/carhack.jpgThe anti-hacking device. Courtesy Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek
 
 
"Hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek have proven more clearly than anyone in the world how vulnerable cars are to digital attack. Now they’re proposing the first step towards a solution.
Last year the two Darpa-funded security researchers spent months cracking into a Ford Escape and a Toyota Prius, terrifying each other with tricks like slamming on the brakes or hijacking the vehicles’ steering with only digital commands sent from a laptop plugged into a standard data port under the dash. At the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas next month, they’ll unveil a prototype device designed to foil the same unnerving tricks they’ve demonstrated: An intrusion-detection system for automobiles. “These attacks seemed serious enough that we should actually consider how to defend against them,” says Miller, who holds a day job as a security researcher for Twitter. “We actually wanted to do something to help solve this problem.”1"
 
Full Article
 
 
 

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Userlevel 7
Good read on this subject as mentioned in the article it cost the developer of the intrusion detection system $150.00 in raw parts so my question down the road how much more will the car manufactures up the sticker price on the car? Based on what they say the hacker would not be able to shut down the computer system in your car....the only worry you would have if the car stopped is if you ran out of gas!!!!!!!!!!!!
Userlevel 7
My question would be: by adding these sophisticated devices how much more are we going to pay for a car??? But on the other side this may be a necessity whether we like it or not
Userlevel 7
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Antus67 you state here...

My question would be: by adding these sophisticated devices how much more are we going to pay for a car??? But on the other side this may be a necessity whether we like it or not
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That's a very good point...probably ALOT!
Userlevel 7
Let me share a true story what happened to me about a year ago. Went  out to my car started it up and it sounded like my muffler system broke. Eased it up to a repair shop when they lifted it up on the lift...........they discovered someone had cut out the catalytic converter. Well it cost me $2000.00 to replace.
My point is this: The car manufacturers should devise a security plan to prevent this.  This would be my suggestion for them.
If a thief would attempt to remove the converter it would trigger the tires to deflate trapping the thief under the car unable to escape to he was discovered what do you think????  http://www.4smileys.com/smileys/happy-smileys/happy-smiley25.gif
Userlevel 7
Badge +62
Anthony you state your experience here:

Let me share a true story what happened to me about a year ago. Went out to my car started it up and it sounded like my muffler system broke. Eased it up to a repair shop when they lifted it up on the lift...........they discovered someone had cut out the catalytic converter. Well it cost me $2000.00 to replace.
My point is this: The car manufacturers should devise a security plan to prevent this. This would be my suggestion for them.
If a thief would attempt to remove the converter it would trigger the tires to deflate trapping the thief under the car unable to escape to he was discovered what do you think????
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Well that idea sounds pretty good as long as they stay trapped till someone catches them..this sounds like it was a nighttime job and I'd be crying over 2000$ for sure! But that won't happen in real life because someone would really get hurt and that's why they have car alarms? Well.....
Userlevel 7
What do you think about having hidden camera's installed within the car. the camera's would be triggered by a motion sensor taking pic's of anyone approaching the car. Of course the owner would be able to deactivate the camera's at will.
Userlevel 7
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Antus67 states:

What do you think about having hidden camera's installed within the car. the camera's would be triggered by a motion sensor taking pic's of anyone approaching the car. Of course the owner would be able to deactivate the camera's at will.
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WOW that's a marvelous idea and I'd go for that for sure..that's better then the alarm! Very smart indeed! 😉
Userlevel 6
Excellent article.
 
With all the auto manufacturers including the latest technology in vehicles, one would hope they would take responsibility for securing the devices.
 
As for raising the sticker price as Antus67 mentioned, in my opinion it would be in their best interest to absorb the cost on this one as most vehicles are being delivered to the dealers with the technology installed.
 
Sticker prices will ultimately rise regardless.
 
 
Userlevel 6
Turns out IDS is actually useful for something
By Iain Thomson, 7 Aug 2014
 
 
Black Hat 2014 At last year’s Black Hat USA, Charlie Miller, security engineer at Twitter and Apple-cracker extraordinaire, and Chris Valasek, director of security intelligence at IOActive, showed delegates how to hack a car. This year they demoed a system that can stop any such hacks dead.
 
Over the past 12 months, the duo have been going through publicly available information about car systems and hacking their own vehicles. The results of their research is that while it is possible to remotely hack – and in some cases take limited control of a vehicle – it’s very difficult and will only work with certain models.
 
 
All car computer systems share common features, principally at least one controller area network (CAN) that shuffles messages between various computer systems on the car, such as brake sensors and radios. While these are hackable, that’s not the whole story.
 
Full story
 
Userlevel 7
The following article is a update on Hackers Could Take Control of your Car
 
(Five Totally Believable Things Car Makers Must Do To Thwart Hackers)
By John Leyden, 14 Aug 2014
 
 
Car manufacturers are urged to implement a five-step program to improve their motors' computer security defenses.
Today's rides are PCs on wheels and thus vulnerable to all sorts of potential hacks – such as the ones documented by Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek in their paper A Survey of Remote Automotive Attack Surfaces, here. The researchers concluded in their talk at last week's Black Hat USA that while it's possible to remotely access – and in some cases take limited control of a vehicle – the process is difficult in practice and very much dependent on the model targeted.
 
Automakers are asked to sign up to a Five Star Automotive Cyber Safety Program for improved security, summarized below:
  1. Safety by Design (car makers should develop a secure software development lifecycle, summarizing design, development, and adversarial resilience testing programs)
  2. Third Party Collaboration (setup coordinated disclosure policy inviting the assistance of third-party researchers)
  3. Evidence Capture (vehicle systems provide tamper evident, forensically-sound logging and evidence capture to allow safety investigations)
  4. Security Updates (can vehicles be securely updated in a prompt and agile manner?)
  5. Segmentation and isolation (physical and logical isolation measures to separate critical systems from non-critical systems?
The Register/ Full Article Here/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/14/car_security_manifesto/

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