One of the biggest stories in the automotive world this summer has been the hacking of Chrysler’s UConnect infotainment system. This sparked a massive recall of more than 1 million vehicles, and has seen other automakers scrambling to ensure their own products are protected. But it isn’t only brand new models that can be breached by ne’er-do-well nerds.
Wired reports that researchers from the University of California-San Diego “hacked” their way into a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette, allowing them to wirelessly tap into the ‘Vettes computer systems and giving them control over things like the brakes.
It’s important to note that this is a much different “hack” compared to the one affecting Chrysler vehicles. Rather than breaching the computer’s wireless Internet connectivity, this even-easier hack requires a gadget plugged into a car’s OBD II port. Through this 2-inch dongle, commonly used by insurance companies and private fleets to track driver behavior, the UC researchers were able to send text messages to the car, connecting them to the CAN bus network that controls all elements of driving. Scarily, this allowed them to remotely activate features like the windshield wipers and brakes, or even cut them off completely.
You can see just how effective this hack is in the above video, though this method of hacking requires direct access to the car itself. However, because every modern automobile is equipped with an OBD-II outlet, all cars, and not just GM models, could be affected. The main concern is that somebody may try selling an OBD-II dongle infected with this malware as an otherwise legitimate product, making their car vulnerable to this kind of hack.
So far, GM’s response has been to warn drivers of third-party devices, and truthfully there’s not much else they can do at this juncture. With our cars increasingly connected to the world around us though, we’re only seeing the very tip of a very scary iceberg of hacking vulnerabilities.