Onboard Computers Subject to Attack?
New Scientist has an article online titled New cars vulnerable to malicious attacks. The article states that 2 researchers have used the a socket under the dashboard to plug a laptop into. Using the laptop they were able to control various controls on the car. As the article states it would be difficult to use this method. I think the driver would notice a laptop connected to their dashboard. However, imagine the possibilities if some device plugged into the socket allowed wireless control of the control systems. Again probably still difficult to do but things thought to be impossible are cracked everyday. As an owner of one of these new vehicles with all the computer controlled gadgets it is a scary thought for me. Hopefully, the automakers will solve this potential security problem before someone does successfully take advantage of it and use it for malicious purposes. Imagine an out of control freight train or 18 wheeler heading straight at you because some terrorist or other knot head overrides the computer control system.
In these days of high tech gadgets with computer control of everything from cell phones to automobiles to 18 wheelers to Train Engines, it is time for everyone to take Computer/Data Security seriously.
www.newscientist.com/article/dn18901-modern-cars-vulnerable-to-malicious-hacks.html
Thanks to our reader Adam for bringing this to our attention.
Deb Hale Long Lines, LLC
Comments
<http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2010/05/car-hacks-could-turn-commutes-into-a-scene-from-speed.ars>
Rich Gibbs
RichG74
May 15th 2010
1 decade ago
Peyton
May 15th 2010
1 decade ago
While I am certain we will see this on CSI sometime soon, for the present, it seems to me that it still remains much easier and less traceable for an assailant to simply cut somebody's brake line. Even if a smaller dongle were developed, it would still have a maximum transmission range in which the assailant could be seen. The bad guy would also have to break into the car without leaving evidence (or raising the suspicions of the driver), and unless the car were utterly incinerated, the dongle could be found and its manufacturer potentially traced by police.
I'm personally more concerned about the reliability of the systems, given these capabilities.
Tisiphone
May 15th 2010
1 decade ago
Ben Scott
May 15th 2010
1 decade ago
That risk is akin to the risk of modified firmware in other equipment. Do you check the firmware of your router or VPN appliance to ensure that there is no backdoor planted to give China unfettered access to your network?
The difference is that tampered firmware in cars can lead to physical damage and death, a feat that a backdoored router has yet to pull off.
Frank
May 15th 2010
1 decade ago
e.b.
May 16th 2010
1 decade ago
You can really think of the car as having multiple modules - each of which can be addressed and queried from the OBD-II port. The ECU (engine control unit) is the brains of the car - it controls how much fuel is delivered to the engine for example.
On my car one can talk to the instrument cluster, the radio, the "comfort control module", the transmission (if you have an automatic), airbags, ABS, and several others. Virtually anything electrical on the car has an addressable module that you can talk to over the OBD-II bus. And with the proper software, virtually every sensor or switch on the car can be queried with the laptop.
It is possible to udpdate the firmware over the OBD-II port. The people who "chip" engines do this all the time.
For some operations, the module requires a password before you can change anything. For example, if you want to have a new key made, there is more to it than just cutting the grooves on the key. There is a little RFID chip on the key, and the instrument cluster has a list of keys that are allowed to start the car. To add a new key to the list, you need a 4-digit password that is specific to your car. Normally the dealer handles all of this for you, but people who chip engines can dig out that password for you (I have the password for both mine and the wife's car that I obtained in this manner).
My car has no bluetooth - newer ones do, so the only way that someone can talk to the modules in my car is by gaining physical access. To me, the bluetooth is common on newer cars is the weak link in all of this.
Jack Russell
May 16th 2010
1 decade ago
Ron
May 16th 2010
1 decade ago
David
May 17th 2010
1 decade ago
Experimental Security Analysis of a Modern Automobile
www.autosec.org/pubs/cars-oakland2010.pdf
Abstract—Modern automobiles are no longer mere mechanical
devices; they are pervasively monitored and controlled by
dozens of digital computers coordinated via internal vehicular
networks. While this transformation has driven major advancements
in efficiency and safety, it has also introduced a range of
new potential risks. In this paper we experimentally evaluate
these issues on a modern automobile and demonstrate the
fragility of the underlying system structure. We demonstrate
that an attacker who is able to infiltrate virtually any Electronic
Control Unit (ECU) can leverage this ability to completely
circumvent a broad array of safety-critical systems. Over a
range of experiments, both in the lab and in road tests, we
demonstrate the ability to adversarially control a wide range
of automotive functions and completely ignore driver input—
including disabling the brakes, selectively braking individual
wheels on demand, stopping the engine, and so on. We find
that it is possible to bypass rudimentary network security
protections within the car, such as maliciously bridging between
our car’s two internal subnets. We also present composite
attacks that leverage individual weaknesses, including an attack
that embeds malicious code in a car’s telematics unit and
that will completely erase any evidence of its presence after a
crash. Looking forward, we discuss the complex challenges in
addressing these vulnerabilities while considering the existing
automotive ecosystem.
Appears in 2010 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy. See http://www.autosec.org/ for more information
kc0pah
May 20th 2010
1 decade ago