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Elsewhere, perhaps you have seen mention re-
cently about “hacks” of newer automobiles; up
to and including the electronic theft of cars.
There are a lot of ways this can happen. In
some cases, thieves were able to install a de-
vice in the legally-required OBD II port under the
dashboard on the driver’s side (normally used
as a diagnostic tool by mechanics to read trou- MEMBERS
ble codes from the on-board computers). But in
other cases, Wi-Fi signals generated in and
around the car as all the electronics “talk” to HELPING
each other can be intercepted and/or modified.
Cars with so-called “keyless” ignition systems
offer other vulnerabilities. MEMBERS
This is a sub-set of more generalized hacking
attempts directed at all sorts of devices that are
dependent on wireless transmission of data.
There have been hacking attempts directed at
our military drones; wireless security systems WITH
are an obvious target; disgruntled employees
have exacted revenge against their employers
by disrupting information and production pro- SMALL
cesses, and so on. For more information about
this topic, just search the internet for “Hacking
into automobile computers”. You’ll find a lot of NEW
“hits”! And, some of the responses will in turn
lead you into the other types of IoT hacking that
I mention above. ARTICLES
Here’s a link to a 60 Minutes video that demon-
strates relatively benign automobile hacking:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/car-hacked-on-
60-minutes/. However, while this example is
benign, it doesn’t take too much imagination to
see how these techniques could be used to de-
liberately injure or kill someone by seizing con-
trol of his car!
I’m sure we will see more and more on this sub-
ject, as “good guys” and “bad guys” continue to
expand their computer cat and mouse game in
sync with new applications and hardware!
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