Hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek wanted to prove that cars connected to the internet can be so vulnerable. While a cellular connection in your vehicle can give you good entertainment and precise driving directions, it can also be used to take over controls of your car. Your wipers will distract you with its swoosh swoosh, your air-conditioning will freeze you cold, your radio up on full volume and you will have no control on your accelerator or your brakes.
The two hackers performed this experiment on Wired's Andy Greenberg, whose Jeep Cherokee was digitally commandeered by Miller and Valasek. They accessed his Uconnect infotainment system and took Greenberg on a wild ride, while the duo sat in front of their laptops in Miller's basement, ten miles away from the highway where Greenberg was driving.
This experiment is the culminating event of the two hackers, who have been working on this since 2012. Miller is a security researcher for Twitter and a former NSA hacker. Valasek is the director of vehicle security research at the consultancy firm, IOActive. They applied for and were awarded an $80,000 research grant specifically to study car-hacking.
And now it has been proven: our cars can become driving computers, with hackers in control. Think of its bigger implication beyond Greenberg's personal account on Wired.com. Think how bad-men hackers can take control of a bank's armored van full of money. Or how bad-men hackers can commandeer the President's limousine.
For almost a year now, Miller and Valasek have been working with auto giant, Chrysler, on how to prevent incidents like this. This is in the midst of clamor that automobile manufacturers have to be held accountable for the digital security of their merchandise.
In the next few days, Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal will introduce a 'Security and Privacy in Your Car Act'designed to combat hacker efforts, like that of Miller and Valasek.-0-
https://nypost.com/2015/07/21/hackers-can-easily-take-control-of-your-car-while-youre-driving/
https://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/
https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/21/technology/chrysler-hack/
