Remote Control Cars: Vulnerabilities and Solutions

1. REMOTE CONTROL CARSJonathan ChandlerCSCE 390 001April 21, 2011

2. Many modern automobiles contain cellular connections • These allow services like OnStar and Safety Connect to remotely: • View vehicle diagnostics • Lock and unlock doors • Start the engine • Detect airbag deployment • Stop the car and block its engine

3. The cellular connections have made vehicles as vulnerable as any computer on the internet • CSE students were able to hack into a vehicle and gain access to its electronic control unit • This gave them access to various vehicle controls, which a hacker could use to: • Intentionally cause an accident • Steal a car using remote unlock and start • Eavesdrop on conversations

4. Extreme Solution: remove remote access • Pros (for keeping remote access) • Automatic accident detection saves lives • Anti-theft engine blocking proven successful • Helpful for people that lock their keys in the car • Cons (for removing full access) • Hurts people who have become accustom to these conveniences • Hurts the car companies financially

5. Compromise: fix the current problems • Following ACM code 1.2, companies should “mitigate the negative consequences” by making software security a major priority • Also, they may need to re-evaluate which systems are necessary for remote access and which can be restricted • Following ACM code 2.5, they should give their customers “thorough evaluations of computer systems and their impacts”, so that people are aware of the risks involved

6. References • http://technews.acm.org/archives.cfm?fo=2011-03-mar/mar-11-2011.html • http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/business/10hack.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onstar • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_Connect