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Two US senators question cybersecurity vulnerabilities of connected cars
27 August 2019
Two US senators have raised concerns about the cybersecurity
vulnerabilities of internet-connected cars with the country's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a letter
dated 22 August. Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal
asked whether the NHTSA has been notified about any malicious
hacking attempts on internet-connected cars and how they plan on
addressing these cyber risks.
The lawmakers also enquired whether the NHTSA had received any
communication from automakers regarding cybersecurity
vulnerabilities, saying carmakers including BMW, Chrysler, Daimler,
Ford, General Motors (GM), and Tesla have disclosed such
vulnerabilities to their investors and shareholders but not their
consumers.
"We are concerned about the lack of publicly available
information about the occurrence and handling of cyber
vulnerabilities in internet-connected cars, and that NHTSA should
be aware of these dangers in order to take possible regulatory
actions," the senators said.
Significance: The senators were referring to a
report by Consumer Watchdog that said safety-critical systems are
being linked to the internet without adequate security and with no
way to disconnect in the event of a fleet-wide hack. The head unit
is connected to the internet through a cellular connection and to
the vehicle's controller area network (CAN) buses. This technology,
dating to the 1980s, links the vehicle's most critical systems,
such as the engine and the brakes.
The report added that the three top-selling carmakers in the
US—GM, Toyota, and Ford, representing nearly half the US auto
market—will only sell internet-connected cars by the end of
this year.
The report also predicted that by 2022, no less than two-thirds
of new cars on American roads will have online connections to the
cars' safety-critical system, putting them at risk of deadly
hacks.
Hacking has become a major headache in the automotive industry.
A few years back, hackers were able to remotely disrupt the driving
of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and turn off the SUV's transmission,
prompting the US government to introduce security legislation.
In 2015, Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) recalled nearly 1.4 million
cars in the US to update a software that the automaker claims would
insulate these connected vehicles from remote manipulation in the
future.
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