Car Hacking – Now It’s Not Just Computers Being Hacked

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Israeli companies are working to develop a “Hack Safe” car. This effort comes at a time when there’s a growing concern involving car hacking. “This can be a tool for terrorists ” said an Israeli expert.

The concern brought U.S Senator Ed Markey to ask twenty automobile manufacturers to submit details of their plans to prevent vehicles from wireless hacking attempts, as well as plans to prevent violations of driver privacy.

According to TomsGuide, Markey wants automobile manufacturers to apply computer-industry security processes and technology — including anti-virus software, incident logging, incident-response planning, software vulnerability patching, and third-party penetrating testing — to mass produced vehicles.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

“Today’s cars and light trucks contain more than fifty separate electronic control units (ECUs), connected through a controller area network (CAN) or other network,” Markey said. “Vehicle functionality, safety and privacy all depend on the functions of these small computers, as well as their ability to communicate with one another.”

According to HLS News Wire Markey cites a recent study by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in which “Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek demonstrated their ability to directly connect to a vehicle’s computer systems, send commands to different ECUs through the CAN and thereby control the engine, brakes, steering and other critical vehicle components.”