It is reported that Chinese
researchers have managed to control the brakes, lights and mirrors within a
Tesla Model S from while the car is moving and up to 20 kilometres (12 miles)
away.
The
news story (see below) highlights the dangers associated with autonomous
connected vehicles.
Brian Spector,
chief executive officer at MIRACL, comments: “These hacks demonstrate the serious problems around
identity verification in today’s connected cars. Having very limited
encryption, identity management and data protection within such a powerful
computer is extremely dangerous and poses a real and serious threat to everyone
using our roads today. Move forwards to the increasing trend for driverless
cars, and the potential fallout from this lack of authentication becomes even
more frightening.”
“For connected cars to become more secure,
relationships must be established within each and every component within a
vehicle, to ensure that only a legitimate operator can control the connected
devices within a car, notes Spector. “Given the huge number of components in
connected cars, hackers usually find a pathway by following a ‘weakest link’
scenario which attacks the easiest point of entry to the vehicle. This problem
is compounded by the array of parts that comprise a vehicle, and the lack of a
security protocol that ensures they will all work together safely and securely.”
According to Spector, current security checks
often fail because they rely on slow, centralised identity verification
services. To connect the components more quickly and autonomously,
manufacturers should deploy a distributed trust model which allows for fast
pre-authorisation, and removes the roadblock of a centralised service.
“All of this requires a serious system upgrade
and a greater drive for security awareness among manufacturers as well as consumers
who use connected cars,” he concludes.
No comments:
Post a Comment