Automakers fail to protect cars against hacking: report
Automakers are cramming cars with wireless technology, but they have failed to adequately protect those features against the real possibility that hackers could take control of vehicles or steal personal data, according to an analysis of information that manufacturers provided to a U.S. senator.
Sen. Edward Markey asked automakers a series of questions about the technologies and any safeguards against hackers built into their vehicles. He also asked how the information vehicle computers gather and often transmit wirelessly is protected.
Markey posed his questions after researchers showed how hackers can get into the controls of some popular cars and SUVs, causing them suddenly to accelerate, turn, sound the horn, turn headlights off or on and modifying speedometer and gas-gauge readings.
The responses from 16 manufacturers “reveal there is a clear lack of appropriate security measures to protect drivers against hackers who may be able to take control of a vehicle or against those who may wish to collect and use personal driver information,” a report by Markey’s staff concludes.
Today’s cars and light trucks typically contain more than 50 electronic control units — effectively small computers — that are part of a network in the car. At the same time, nearly all new cars on the market today include at least some wireless entry points to these computers, such as tire pressure monitoring systems, Bluetooth, Internet access, keyless entry, remote start, navigation systems, Wi-Fi, anti-theft systems and cellular-telematics, the report said. Only three automakers said they still have some models without wireless entry, but those models are a small and declining share of their fleets.
“Drivers have come to rely on these new technologies, but unfortunately the automakers haven’t done their part to protect us from cyber-attacks or privacy invasions,” Markey said in a statement. Among the report’s findings: Most manufacturers said they were unaware of or unable to report on past hacking incidents. Three automakers declined to answer the question. One automaker described an app designed by an outside company and released for Android devices that could access a vehicle’s computer network through the Bluetooth connection. A security analysis didn’t indicate any ability to introduce malicious code or steal data, but the automaker had the app removed from the Google Play store as a precautionary measure.
Manufacturers are handling the introduction of new technology in different ways, and for the most part these actions are insufficient to ensure security. Hackers can get around most security protections cited by manufacturers, according to the security experts Markey consulted.
Only one manufacturer appeared able to detect a hacking attempt while it was happening and only two described credible means of responding to such intrusions in real time.