When we talk about car hacking, we think of a hackerwho gains remote access to the car's system and gains complete control.
In 2015, some researchers managed to hack a Jeep Cherokee. They were able to remotely control everything: the windshield wipers, the air conditioning, even the speed.
This means that someone could hack a car, take control of it, and cause an accident, putting the driver at risk. Based on the above, this is possible, but it has never happened. In fact, it's a bit of a far-fetched scenario.
Nowadays, vehicles can be controlled by computers. Essentially, it is a complex system, consisting of interconnected electrical subsystems. Traditional mechanical connections have been replaced by electrical ones.
This replacement of connections allows the entire system to be controlled by a computer. It is controlled by the so-called "drive-by-wire system".
A drive-by-wire system failure was the cause of the speed increase in 2002 Toyotas. The failure caused a fatal accident in 2017. The National Highway Safety Administration of America found that there were mechanical defects in the pedals.
In this case, the problem was indeed technical. It had nothing to do with hacking. But what if someone intentionally interfered with the throttle, without the driver knowing?
The backbone of the modern vehicle system is a protocol called Controller Area Network (CAN bus). This network is based on the principle of a master control unit with multiple slave devices
Anything in the car could be a slave device. The light on the roof of the car, the steering wheel, a switch. These devices send signals to the central control unit, and the central control unit can in turn control everything in the car.
If someone has physical access to the network, they will be able to send and receive signals from any connected device.
To breach the network, physical access. However, access can also be gained through an onboard diagnostic port located under the steering wheel. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which are available in some cars, can also be used to gain access to the network.
However, Bluetooth has a limited range and connecting to Wi-Fi requires the vehicle's IP address and Wi-Fi password.
Remotely hacking cars isn't very easy, but that doesn't mean we should be quiet.
The Evil Maid attack is a term coined by security analyst Joanna Rutkowska. It is an attack that takes advantage of insecure devices found in hotel rooms.
How is the attack;
First, the victim must be away on vacation or for work and have a device with them, which they leave in their hotel room. While the device is in the room and unattended, a maid enters the room and installs malware on the device. The owner of the device, of course, has no idea that this has happened.
Something similar can happen with the CAN bus protocol. If someone can gain physical access to it, then your vehicle could be at risk. And who could gain access? It could be the mechanic, perhaps, when you take your car in for service and you are not there to check. The mechanic could be the equivalent of the maid in the Evil Maid attack.
Your mechanic could connect a device to the ODB port to check the car's system, if there is any damage, etc.
But could it do other things? Could it tamper with something to create a problem so that you have to take the car in for service again? Could it take your car for a drive and then adjust the odometer so that the owner doesn't notice? The answer to all of this is that "yes, it could do all of this by checking the car's system.".
Unfortunately, addressing this issue is not easy.
Security researchers are trying to find solutions to improve the security behind the CAN bus protocol.
Until some practical solutions are found to reduce the above risk, all we can do is find a reliable engineer.
