A Hacked Car

[Lewis]

Your car is a giant computer - and it can be hacked
June 1, 2014
http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/01/technology/security/car-hack/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

[TOG]

If someone can connect to your car wirelessly and take control of your steering, breaks and accelerator, then your car is very poorly designed.

The TOG​

 

[Lewis]

Imagine driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour, when suddenly the wheel turns hard right. You crash. And it was because someone hacked your car.

 

[TOG]

Imagine driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour, when suddenly the wheel turns hard right. You crash. And it was because someone hacked your car.

Why would anyone design a car where that was possible. To do that, they would have to be able to control your steering with a wireless connection. Putting such a thing in a car doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone do it?

The TOG​

 

[Lewis]

Why would anyone design a car where that was possible. To do that, they would have to be able to control your steering with a wireless connection. Putting such a thing in a car doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone do it?

The TOG​

To late it is already done, your car can be hacked and my car can be hacked.

 

[Obadiah]

Interesting and scary article. Sadly, they won't be giving us any choice either. One of the reasons I drive an older diesel pickup truck is it's low number of computers. Yeah, it has an engine control module because when I bought it there was already no choice on that. But other than cruise control, it has no other computers and certainly doesn't connect to the internet! My motorcycle has no computers, not a single one. Yet it's functioned just fine for 27 years with no major problems. My boat has no computers running it at all and, once again, no problems. Newer boats have computer controlled engines and already people have died from them. On a boat with a computer controlled engine, all it takes is a relatively close lightning strike to wipe out the computer and shut down the engine, usually just as you are trying to get to a safe harbor, navigating some rocky channel in a storm and now without your engine the wind blows you on the rocks and you die. We need to learn to use computers to go on Facebook and ChristianForums.net, and use our hands, feet, and common sense to drive our cars!

 

[TOG]

To late it is already done, your car can be hacked and my car can be hacked.

That doesn't answer my question. Having computers control certain parts of the car is understandable. Having certain wireless connections for things like GPS or an Internet connected entertainment center is also understandable. But why connect the two together? Why design the car in such a way that there is any connection at all between the entertainment center and the steering wheel, much less allow one to control the other? It makes no sense to design a car in that way. Why would anyone do that? They don't just slap cars together without thinking. There must be a reason.

The TOG​

 

[Obadiah]

That doesn't answer my question. Having computers control certain parts of the car is understandable. Having certain wireless connections for things like GPS or an Internet connected entertainment center is also understandable. But why connect the two together? Why design the car in such a way that there is any connection at all between the entertainment center and the steering wheel, much less allow one to control the other? It makes no sense to design a car in that way. Why would anyone do that? They don't just slap cars together without thinking. There must be a reason.

The TOG​

I'm wondering if one of the reasons is government control, maybe innocent at least at first. A scenario I can imagine is someone commits a crime and runs off in a car. A witness gets a license plate number (stupid thief didn't change the plate!) and the police will be able to access the cars systems wirelessly, learn where it is from it's GPS system, shut down it's engine and lock it's doors so the bad guy can't get out (at least not easily) while they swoop down to arrest him. Much like they do with those bait cars we see on TV, only now applied to all of our private cars.

Now that COULD be one of the reason they are doing this. If so, I'd have no problem with it. My fear is that in addition to private hackers, this kind of invasion of privacy by the government (if that's the plan) worries me greatly since the governments been known to abuse these kinds of power all too often.

 

[Lewis]

Yeah Obadiah cars were simple at one time, and were not that hard to work on. Now with all the modules' from a crank position sensor to computer assisted braking every thing in my car is run by computer

 

[reba]

We need to learn to use computers to go on Facebook and ChristianForums.net, and use our hands, feet, and common sense to drive our cars!


The governments been known to abuse these kinds of power all too often

 

[Lewis]

I'm wondering if one of the reasons is government control, maybe innocent at least at first. A scenario I can imagine is someone commits a crime and runs off in a car. A witness gets a license plate number (stupid thief didn't change the plate!) and the police will be able to access the cars systems wirelessly, learn where it is from it's GPS system, shut down it's engine and lock it's doors so the bad guy can't get out (at least not easily) while they swoop down to arrest him. Much like they do with those bait cars we see on TV, only now applied to all of our private cars.

Now that COULD be one of the reason they are doing this. If so, I'd have no problem with it. My fear is that in addition to private hackers, this kind of invasion of privacy by the government (if that's the plan) worries me greatly since the governments been known to abuse these kinds of power all too often.

They have already done that by disabling the car by satellite to the cars computer catching the car thieves. Using Lo Jack and On Star systems

 

[Kathi]

We need to learn to use computers to go on Facebook and ChristianForums.net, and use our hands, feet, and common sense to drive our cars!


The governments been known to abuse these kinds of power all too often

I think we are seeing more and more of the Big Brother thing.

 

[TOG]

We need to learn to use computers to go on Facebook and ChristianForums.net, and use our hands, feet, and common sense to drive our cars!

Since when has common sense had anything to do with how people drive? It doesn't look that way to me.

The TOG​

 

[Lewis]

The computer age is here to stay, so we have to deal with it, I mean what else can we do ?

 

[Kathi]

The computer age is here to stay, so we have to deal with it, I mean what else can we do ?

Become Amish? If we ever have one of those attacks where all the electricity go out they will be the ones who will survive.

 

[Obadiah]

The computer age is here to stay, so we have to deal with it, I mean what else can we do ?

That's a big reason why I've kept my 27 year old motorcycle, 30 year old boat, and 16 year old truck and just keep fixing and rebuilding as needed.

 

[Obadiah]

Become Amish? If we ever have one of those attacks where all the electricity go out they will be the ones who will survive.

It won't go out forever, just until they fix whatever happened. I'd miss playing on the internet, but even my refrigerator can keep food frozen for up to a week with no energy input at all, I have an unlimited supply of water and a generator with enough fuel to run it for months if needed.

 

[Kathi]

It won't go out forever, just until they fix whatever happened. I'd miss playing on the internet, but even my refrigerator can keep food frozen for up to a week with no energy input at all, I have an unlimited supply of water and a generator with enough fuel to run it for months if needed.

But all automobile would not work.How would you get around?

 

[Obadiah]

But all automobile would not work.How would you get around?

Mine would. They don't require electricity to run other than what they generate themselves. I suppose in enough time fuel would be an issue because gas stations run on electricity, but that would require a very long term power outage in which case there probably wouldn't be much sense in getting around anyway since most everything would be shut down by then. I could envision electric grids going down for a few days or even a few weeks, but something more permanent seems more like the realm of end of the world as we know it conspiracy theorists. If that kind of thing happens, even the Amish won't survive because they rely far more on modern conveniences (even if indirectly) then they like to admit.

 

[Kathi]

Mine would. They don't require electricity to run other than what they generate themselves. I suppose in enough time fuel would be an issue because gas stations run on electricity, but that would require a very long term power outage in which case there probably wouldn't be much sense in getting around anyway since most everything would be shut down by then. I could envision electric grids going down for a few days or even a few weeks, but something more permanent seems more like the realm of end of the world as we know it conspiracy theorists. If that kind of thing happens, even the Amish won't survive because they rely far more on modern conveniences (even if indirectly) then they like to admit.

Not lthe old order.