This whole idea of incorporating wireless connectivity and merging this network into an automobile is wrought with peril.
I have seen this before:
The Wi-Fi is very likely a subscription service, requiring active participation on your part. For example, the car could connect to your smartphone via bluetooth and then serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot. This would require you to actively connect and permit this connection via your smartphone.
What bothers me, to no small degree - is this opens your car to a variety of malicious attacks. A car hacker could potentially create a virus that would propagate through the Wi-FI, and infect other cars. If your car’s network is connected to the security system, or the engine/transmission controllers - a malicious hacker could cause your car to shut down, or could hack into the Wi-Fi and set it to unlock with his personal fob - thereby bypassing your key and locking system.
This whole idea of incorporating wireless connectivity and merging this network into an automobile is wrought with peril.
Some ideas are neat; for example the idea of purchasing “Upgrades” via software for your car/transmission (say, winter driving transmission settings dictated by season, exterior temperature, local weather road reports and GPS position) are very neat. But the question I do not know the answer to, is how well is the individual car protected from malicious software. Could a malicious hacker cause your engine to go to full power, the transmission to lock in drive, and lock your steering wheel? Essentially turning your car in to a ballistic weapon? I simply don’t know.
I hear what you are saying about the attacks. But from what I understand there is a wifi component already in place. i would want that off!
I have seen this before:
The wifi function and the other functions handled by the car’s on-board computer are in no way connected. Your car’s on-board computer is safe from being “hacked” by some hacker coming in through the wifi. Its like saying you have a computer in your basement, which is not connected to any other computer, will catch a virus from a computer you have upstairs on the internet. Moreover, even if they were connected, they use specialized chips to store their programming on, which are known by various acronyms, i.e. EEPROM, (Electronically Eraseable Programmable Read Only Memory) and various permutations of these kinds of chips, which CANNOT be reprogrammed remotely.
The on-board computers are really a good way for the shade-tree mechanic to diagnose complex problems. For a 100 - 300 dollar investment, you can get the hardware necessary to connect directly to your car’s onboard computer. No more check engine lights, etc. The VW computers are really light years beyond most other cars, and are invaluable for me, when I want to find out what is wrong with my car. They aren’t all that difficult to use, and the companies that make the software/cables make it easy for you to understand what everything means. If you by a VW, I highly recommend you get a connection to your computer, as you will need it to do something as basic as changing your brakes.