OwnStar Hacking device unveiled for Onstar vehicles

[Snoman]

OwnStar will break into any GM vehicle equipped with OnStar, details to be revealed at DefCon next week.

GM claims they "have an update" that will "fix the vulnerability"

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/gadget-...-unlock-start/

In GM's defense, the device does not hack the vehicle directly, it hacks the APP on your Phone that you use to link to your car with.

[Apex Motorsports]

The cars have Wifi now so it will be interesting to see what comes of that. I am convinced the technology will one day be our undoing.

[90503]

It's just too bad that the people who make this tech-stuff aren't as smart as the people who want to screw it up and make it a pain in the ass.....

Unfortunately common sense will not prevail in this area. They'll keep putting all this bs more and more into cars regardless of the cost and lack of a need for it because, well, they just must put it in....

[Venomous]

Originally Posted by Apex Motorsports

The cars have Wifi now so it will be interesting to see what comes of that. I am convinced the technology will one day be our undoing.

[Frank in MD]

Originally Posted by Snoman

OwnStar will break into any GM vehicle equipped with OnStar, details to be revealed at DefCon next week.

GM claims they "have an update" that will "fix the vulnerability"

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/gadget-...-unlock-start/

In GM's defense, the device does not hack the vehicle directly, it hacks the APP on your Phone that you use to link to your car with.

GM isn't "claiming to have an update", they have an update.

https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/30/9...-hack-security

[Drumminxx]

Originally Posted by 90503

It's just too bad that the people who make this tech-stuff aren't as smart as the people who want to screw it up and make it a pain in the ass.....

Unfortunately common sense will not prevail in this area. They'll keep putting all this bs more and more into cars regardless of the cost and lack of a need for it because, well, they just must put it in....

Actually the same people who want to screw it up are the same people who created it...ahhh....job security in the life of a programmer.

[45thAnniversary2SS]

Originally Posted by Drumminxx

Actually the same people who want to screw it up are the same people who created it...ahhh....job security in the life of a programmer.

Actually they're not. Programming and hacking are two completely different arenas.

You can program worms, etc. that will infiltrate networks, but most "hacking" is finding back doors and exploitations in networks.

The same group of people that are writing those programs are not the people trying to exploit them... But yea, the programming industry is a pretty secure field to be in.

[stoopid]

Originally Posted by 45thAnniversary2SS

The same group of people that are writing those programs are not the people trying to exploit them... But yea, the programming industry is a pretty secure field to be in.

Exactly.

The issue is that any digital tech is going to be pounded by hackers. Some won't have leaks, some will leak like a sieve.

With regards to cars, certain forms of technology probably should not be allowed for this reason. It could literally kill people, and if that vulnerability is in millions of vehicles that could mean millions of deaths. IMO no infotainment system is worth that risk. It's bad enough all the ones and zeros that control so many critical aspects of a car's function now.

[8cd]

Originally Posted by 90503

It's just too bad that the people who make this tech-stuff aren't as smart as the people who want to screw it up and make it a pain in the ass.....

Unfortunately common sense will not prevail in this area. They'll keep putting all this bs more and more into cars regardless of the cost and lack of a need for it because, well, they just must put it in....

It's not that they're smarter. It's that a hacker just has to find one exploit. It's a lot easier to find one weakness in a system than to protect against every possible weakness. Especially when easy user accessibility is a priority.

[SPARTAN sui]

Originally Posted by 8cd

It's not that they're smarter. It's that a hacker just has to find one exploit. It's a lot easier to find one weakness in a system than to protect against every possible weakness. Especially when easy user accessibility is a priority.

Bingo, this guy gets it. Where there's a will there's a way.

[90503]

Originally Posted by 8cd

It's not that they're smarter. It's that a hacker just has to find one exploit. It's a lot easier to find one weakness in a system than to protect against every possible weakness. Especially when easy user accessibility is a priority.

Originally Posted by SPARTAN sui

Bingo, this guy gets it. Where there's a will there's a way.

Then apparently the "priorities" are askew....What is the need for easy user accessibility for "On-Star"...?....There is none. Yet it was hacked. Some features can be used by a Smart-Phone?....I still fail to see that as any sort of a "priority"...

So called advances in technology are useless trivia that is marketed as "vital" or an "important priority"....a total self-serving industry that was never needed and can be easily done without...

[102SS]

Originally Posted by 130R

Some of the Camaro theft stories out of the South Bay in Cali made me suspect something like this existed for OnStar; it was the most logical way to explain the rash of thefts.

I think the biggest problem with modern cars getting hacked is the manufacturers being naive. They obviously need to start taking this stuff a little more seriously...


http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2015/7/2...icles-7728209/

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2015/2/1...-Them-7725368/

I am sure they capture the signal from the key fob in parking lots and use that to defeat the cars security.

[5thGenOwner]

I love this discussion, because if you read the news we are moving to autonomous cars at light speed... yet, we are not naïve to the capabilities of hackers. This seems to be quite the conundrum which no one is talking about.