Car-Hacking On The Rise

Such thefts have started occurring in the Midlands and east London. Thieves took advantage of a combination of vulnerabilities in factory-fitted alarm systems and a diagnostic port used to read fault codes during servicing. They gained access to the port without triggering the alarm and used it to reprogramme blank keys. The whole process only took a few minutes allowing the thieves to make off with expensive BMWs.

In addition, cyber-security researchers based in the US have shown how the latest safety and self-driving car technology could be used to allow hackers to accelerate, brake and steer as though they were playing a video game.

The concern here is that with widespread availability of wireless technologies as well as automation in new cars, wireless attacks are possible. However, as cars are not highly integrated like laptops and phones, manufacturers do have a decent shot at restricting the potential for hacking.

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