Posted on 06/27/2013 1:02:15 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
Following the death of Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed contributor Michael Hastings in a fiery car crash, and the subsequent revelation of a panicked email he sent to his colleagues just before he died, this question has arisen: could someone have hacked his car? That's unlikely, and here's why. P
Hastings' 2013 Mercedes C250 coupe crashed into a tree on Highland Ave. in Los Angeles around 4:30 am on June 18. The car burst into flames, and it took the coroner two days to positively ID Hastings' body. P
It sounds like perfect fodder for a good conspiracy theory. After all, Hastings was a heavy hitter whose 2010 Rolling Stone piece on Gen. Stanley McChrystal ended the Afghan war chief's career and sent shockwaves through the defense community. He had enemies, and his final email implies he was working on something huge related to the NSA and FBI, and that "the Feds" were interviewing his associates. If you believe the government does that kind of thing, it almost sounds like Hastings was taken out somehow.P
But how exactly? Speaking to the Huffington Post, former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke claimed that "what is known about the single-vehicle crash is 'consistent with a car cyber attack.'"P
Clarke said, "There is reason to believe that intelligence agencies for major powers" — including the United States — know how to remotely seize control of a car.
"What has been revealed as a result of some research at universities is that it's relatively easy to hack your way into the control system of a car, and to do such things as cause acceleration when the driver doesn't want acceleration, to throw on the brakes when the driver doesn't want the brakes on, to launch an air bag," Clarke told The Huffington Post. "You can do some really highly destructive things now, through hacking a car, and it's not that hard."
"So if there were a cyber attack on the car — and I'm not saying there was," Clarke added, "I think whoever did it would probably get away with it."P Related
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Clarke also says that because the "dozen or so computers" on board the Mercedes melted, it's even harder to trace who may have committed such an act. That's true. University researchers have found ways to crash car computer systems in the lab and there's no reason to believe government agents haven't also figured out how to do the same thing.P
But there are many, many reasons we need to be stay away from this theory in this case for now. As the Los Angeles Times notes, law enforcement officials are "weeks away" from determining the exact cause of Hastings' death, including what happened to the car and how fast it was going. P
Moreover, car hacking seems to be the most in vogue fear du jour among Americans lately, what with AOL positing that terrorists are capable of seizing your car's computer remotely and turning it into a high-speed death machine. P Related
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Our own Jason Torchinsky did a thorough debunking of why this is so unlikely, including how modern cars' internal networks aren't normally equipped to receive wireless instructions and how it's absurd to think that mechanical systems can somehow be easily overridden by a remote signal. P
Put simply, car hacking isn't what people think it is. You most likely have to have access to a car, then install software, then break through the car's systems. If Clarke is basing his analysis on the university research and not some secret government information, then he should also know that right now this isn't easy.P
It's actually more plausible to think that someone could have physically tampered with Hastings' Mercedes rather than "hacked" it. You could argue that this would also be a form of "hacking," perhaps literally hacking at cables, but we'll have to wait and see if there's more evidence of this.P
We need to wait until all the facts are in before we start buying in to conspiracy theories because no one has been able to dismiss the most obvious theory: Hastings was working on a big story, as he often did, and then he was involved in a car crashed caused by driver error, speeding, alcohol or some other factor.P
It could just be a coincidence, and a very unfortunate one that cost the world an immensely talented and dogged reporter. It could also be the clever and malicious work of government agents.P
We simply don't know yet. And it's not fair to the memory of a man who dedicated his life to uncovering truth for us to blindly buy into the latest thing we're told to be afraid of.P
G: Hello onstar...
C:I locked my keys in the car ...
G: One minute please.
O: There, are they unlocked now?
O: Yes - thanks
Conversation from 8 years ago... Now they can do much more.
No way the NSA is aware or monitoring these communications, is there?-—never mind...-
Didn’t know that; indeed THAT is consistent with a roaring gasoline fire.
Withdrawing all concerns, awaiting reports the fuel tank was ripped open.
Some years ago I was driving on I-85 in GA when the truck in front of me dropped his drive shaft right on front of me. No room left or right to move. The narrow end was pointed at me, and the big U-joint away from me. As I drove over it in my company-owned Ford Taurus, the frame caught the u-joint, lifted up the shaft, and the shaft then penetrated the left rear floor board and speared the gas tank.
I immiediately pulled over on the shoulder, as did the now coasting truck, and as luck would have it we were on a pretty good incline. I had just a few miles ago filled up with gas, so parked there on the shoulder I proceeded to drain nearly 20 gallons of gas in a stream along the roadside. Would have been spectacular if ignited. Would have only burned for a couple minutes, but open gasoline makes a purty fire.
Needless to say I moved WELL away from the vehicle.
By the time the po-po and the fire department arrived, the gasoline have evaporated and the wind had blown the vapors away.
Still an exciting few moments as I thought about the hot cat or a spark from dragging metal igniting the leaking gas as I brought the car to a stop on the grass shoulder.
The article is from Jalopnik, part of the Gawker media organization. “Left of Center” would be an accurate description of the org.
he was going to expose some cia corruption..... now we all know the cia does not engage in any underhanded activity.... AND WE ALL TRUST OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT despite recent revelations....right???????
hack a car... you mean mess with the electronic throttle actuator and the abs brakes... nah not our government. what about if the accelerator signal is floored and the brakes disabled.... SOUNDS LIKE THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN BY WITNESSES WHO SAW THE CAR SPEEDING BY AT EXTREMELY HIGH SPEED AT A COUPLE OF REDLIGHTS...
Friends and relatives say he DROVE LIKE GRANDMA.....
Digitalis for Breitbart and Hack for Hastings
problems solved
Next
If we didn't have a rogue bunch of murderous maniacs in control of our government, I'd say they should be focusing on attempting to locate a wireless receiver tied into the vehicle's system. We already know they put GPS transmitters on cars.
You're,,, mocking me, aren't you? :-)
But I do believe changes can be made to the program by plugging into the system. Just a thought.
I was just answering someone who brought up a drone possibility.
Sounds reasonable. They're DESIGNED to work with one another.
How 'impossible' is it for a government agent with billions of dollars in funding behind him to have a customized CD made and stick it into a CD player.
It didn't say it was impossible, I said 'damned-near impossible.' I know this stuff can be done because I see happen. Hell, Sandra Bullock can do wondrous things! We disable an alien space craft by plugging in a USB stick and typing a few lines on a flat-screen monitor. Everybody knows that all you have to do is look at some of the raw data on some type of memory device and we suddenly know the computer's architecture, what type of programming language, all the peripherals attached, and how to reprogram it in under 2 minutes so that it works right the first time, while the bad guy is breaking through the door to get us. Happens all the time.
"which makes the rest of your statement 'preposterous' (and wrong)."
I've been wrong before. No big deal. Prove it, and I'll happily recant my statement and change my opinion, which, by the way is equally valid with yours.
This, by the way, is my last post on the subject. It's not worth any more of my time. Call me anything you want.
OnSTar.. Yes Yes Yess.. We can do that.
You say you have a warrant and FISA judge approval to ‘kill’ any new model car and its uccupants and make it look like an accident.
Bug uhh Big Gubamint Motors delivers a bigger bang for the buck than a Benz.
Coming soon to an offramp near you.
Ping for later read ......................................................................................... FRegards
I’d be interested in what that panicked email had to say.
I suppose it will come out eventually.
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