Recently we have seen hackers finding a security loophole in the Fiat Jeep Cherokee that allowed them to have control over the car remotely. Now, the researchers hacked Corvette by just sending a text message.
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The researchers at the University of California at San Diego have found the vulnerability in Corvette by which they were able to control various parts of the car’s equipment just via SMS.
In the video below, we can see that researchers hacked Corvette and were able to control the wipers, lights, and even the brakes of the car, which can seriously compromise the safety of passengers in case of remote access. But the researchers said that their Corvette brake tricks worked only at low speeds due to the restrictions in the vehicle’s computer functions.
Researchers hacked Corvette by using a cellular-enabled device called OBD2 dongle designed by the Mobile Devices, a France-based firm. But the distribution of the device was done by the corporate customers like the Metromile, a San Francisco-based insurance startup.
The researchers have completely analyzed the cellular-enabled device, branded as the Metromile Pulse, which are plugged into a port on the cars’ dashboards and used as a means of tracking cars. Metromile has also teamed up with Uber to offer the cellular-enabled devices to its contract drivers as part of a discount insurance program. The researchers have informed the company regarding the flaws.
Dan Preston, Metromile CEO, said in a phone interview to Wired:
“We took this very seriously as soon as we found out. Patches have been sent to all the devices. The security update was created by Mobile Devices and Metromile and then transmitted over the air to customers.”
Researchers hacked Corvette using OBD2 dongle, but the researchers have warned that other vehicles using similar telematics dongles could also be at risk of being hacked via SMS. They also said that car owners should think twice before plugging anything into their car.