This August , researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek announced their plan of hacking digital network of cars and truck at Black Hat and Defcon security conferences.
This network is popularly known as CAN bus , in this network every computer is connected to system that influences vehicle’s parts like horn and seat belts to steering and breaks. They have demonstrated their plans to attack car and to make such vulnerable.
Miller and Valasek is known for receiving DARPA grant for investigating car’s and security in a year 2013.
They will demonstrate working of a remote car attack against a factory vehicle. Readers can read an abstract posted on a black Hat website based on their plans of remote attack. Miller and Valasek have not revealed their vehicle’s identity on which they are performing test. They will show the entire process of sending pieces of vehicle’s hardware and enable their route on CAN bus network.
They will show various messages that affects physical systems of vehicle. In 2011 academic researchers showed how they can wirelessly control a car brakes and steering via remote attacks. How they can exploit car’s cellular communications, wifi network, Bluetooth connection and much more. They have identified it as unnamed sedan.
Miller and valasek have disclosed their past hacking models and experiments. In a conference in 2013, they displayed how they have hijacked two vehicle’s driving functions that includes disability and slamming on breaks. They just use laptops plugged into OBD2 port placed under the dashboards. Those vehicles were Ford Escape and Toyota plus.
From past two years Miller&Valasek are working on making such attacks wireless . In a list of 24 vehicles they rated the most vulnerable vehicles to be hacked based on wireless attack points , network architecture and computerized control of key physical feature. In list of 24 automobile, jeep Cherokee, Infiniti Q50 and cardillac escalade were most hack able vehicles tested.
The digital security of a car is mostly depended on car’s architecture. If you are able to hack radio you can touch brakes and steering.
Jeep was rated as most hack able vehicle. The reports and analysis of Valasek & Miller has led automakers to think twice on vehicle’s security. Ed Markey told automakers to work for their security measures. Auto mobile responded in a letter that there is no access for wireless in automobiles. Seven of twenty go for third party audit for vehicle’s security. Two out of twenty told their counter act on digital attack on braking and steering systems.
The reports and responses shows a either our cars are totally safe or they are at risk. Miller and valasek has announced that they will hack a car from remote control at Defcon . With no wires attached , no mods and it will be direct from showroom floor.
