Posted on 07/30/2015 1:55:36 PM PDT by Zakeet
A researcher is advising drivers to halt the use of a mobile app for General Motors Co's (GM.N) OnStar vehicle communications system, saying hackers can exploit a security flaw in the product to remotely unlock cars and start engines.
"White-hat" hacker Samy Kamkar posted a video on Thursday saying he had figured out a way to "locate, unlock and remote-start" vehicles by intercepting communications between the OnStar RemoteLink mobile app and the OnStar service.
Kamkar said he plans to provide technical details on the hack next week in Las Vegas at the Def Con conference, where tens of thousands of hacking aficionados will gather to learn about new cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
[Snip]
Representatives from the agency discussed the issue with GM, said the flaw could involve doors and engine start-stop, but does not involve other critical safety systems, according to a person familiar with those discussions.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Fortunately, the hackers can only steal your Government Motors vehicle ... and not wreck it!
Uh, if they shut it off while you’re driving it just might cause a wreck. :>} Give me a ‘69 Hemi RoadRunner and no computer in sight. There should be several of them here in Reno next week for Hot August Nights. WOO HOO!
I have (yet another_ dumb question. What if the GM owner/driver never activated the OnStar in the first place?
It sounds like he is accessing the remote starter features. They provide for locking and unlocking doors as well as starting car. These features can be accessed through cell phones. In order to drive remote started car a key still needs to be inserted.
“In order to drive remote started car a key still needs to be inserted.”
If somebody turns it on in your garage then it could kill the occupants of the house.
This is a pretty deep question.
OnStar came out in 1997, so it’s been around quite a while.
And there are a bunch of different versions (like any consumer hardware/software, upgrades are ongoing).
My own view is that pretty much ANYTHING electronic can be hacked, so if you want to be completely immune, only drive pre-OBD vehicles.
Another great reason to have CO detectors!
The “self-driving” paradigm ahead is going to be funny for sure, and traffic is already getting funny for those of us watching it from a distance and refusing to participate.
[Roadster builders: consider a little more Nascar type tubing design around cockpits and crush structure on the sides.]
Possibly but you would need to keep repeating as their is a limit to how long the car remote lets car run before switching off.
Turn used NASCARS into Stock Cars.
There are bills in committee on the Hill requiring ALL vehicles be able to talk to one another wirelessly by 2030(?).
There's been plenty said, but most feel they'll never make it out of committee. That's been said about a lot of things, though.
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