Hackers Commandeer Moving Jeep From Miles Away

Interestingly they did a test on the new cars 2 years ago at some universities & found they could get control of a car simply by driving alongside it using a laptop to control the cars functions.

Fiat Chrysler has released an urgent software update for a number of its Internet-connected vehicles after learning that two hackers were able to take control of a Jeep Cherokee from miles away and crash it into a ditch.

The possibility that hackers could gain access to hundreds of thousands of FCA vehicles was revealed in a story in Wired magazine. The potential was demonstrated by two professional hackers, including one who previously worked for the National Security Agency. They plan to reveal at least some of their tricks during a so-called Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas next month.

Jeep Owners Urged to Get Update After Hackers Commandeer Vehicle - NBC News

Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway?With Me in It | WIRED

That's been a huge story over here.. scary.

Will this particular problem be solved? Sure. Will that be the end of it? Absolutely not. We're just seeing the beginning.

The general problem with the Internet of Things (IoT) is that security is often an afterthought, if it exists at all. Couple the with the fact that a lot of folks are clueless and don't RTFM, and you have a situation ripe for exploitation - your web-coupled baby monitor, your electronic house door lock that you can lock/unlock from your phone, lights, the thermostat, etc., etc.

Makes one think that the Luddites may have been right :)

Chrysler will get this problem fixed, but security, and especially software security, is like "Whack-A-Mole", just when you get one vulnerability fixed, another one pops up.

The "Internet of Things" is going to offer a lot of opportunity for crackers. I have to think that they are licking their chops over Apple's most recent announcement about "HomeKit". Here's a link to Apple's site ( https://developer.apple.com/homekit/ ) and an article on what they can connect it to:

Every single home appliance that works with Apple HomeKit
Ecobee3 Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat
Honeywell Lyric Thermostat
Schlage Sense Door Lock
Hue Automated Lighting System
MyQ Garage Opener
Insteon Hub Pro (lights, temperature, smoke detectors and more)
Incipio Power Strips, Outlets, and Adapters
Eve Home Monitoring by Elgato (Eve Room, Eve Door and Window, Eve Energy)
The Home by Withings (camera that works during the night with time-lapse video recording, a motion sensor, two microphones and even air quality tracking.)
iHome SmartPlug (lets users group multiple plugs together and control electronics en masse.)
Tempo Environment Monitor
iDevices Switch (control multiple electronics remotely without the need for a central hub.)
ConnectSense Smart Outlet (Like iHome, iDevices, Insteon, etc.)
Velvetwire PowerSlayer Blu (contemporary charger from Velvetwire )

( From an article at Every single home appliance that works with Apple HomeKit | TechRadar )

Now, IF there aren't any security issues in any of the above, and IF there aren't any ways to break into an iPhone, this will be a useful set of stuff.

On the other hand, this could get really interesting - doors locking and unlocking, thermostat changing to full heat in Summer, lights going on and off, etc. etc.

The recall, which includes Dodges, Jeeps, Rams and Chryslers, comes after Wired magazine published an article Tuesday in which two hackers were able to manipulate remotely a Jeep Cherokee's computer software.

Chrysler Recalls 1.4 Million Cars After Remote Hacking of Jeep - NBC News