When a technology begins to become accepted and used, it is often the case where you will see various versions with slight differences being used. This seems to be the case with a variety of technologies when it comes to the automobile industry.
While most cars are equipped with computer monitoring systems, each manufacturer has slight variations in how their vehicles are configured. In most cases this means that you have to bring your car to that manufacturer for repairs, or at least find a repair shop qualified and authorized to use the right equipment.
Unfortunately, that also means that there are more than 100 different computer systems used by modern cars. In addition, you will find that certain smartphone makers will configure their software to work with several but not all automobile computer systems.
This leaves a huge gap where hackers can easily find a way into the system. If you take into consideration the fact that smartphones are usually paired and connected to the owner’s vehicle, you can see that if a hacker can get to your car, they can probably also get access to your phone.
People are already getting used to a lot of the computerized features, such as collision detection and lane veering to name a few, but what happens if someone hacks into that system and simulates one of these instances? The brakes are automatically applied, which could cause major accidents.
We are entering an age when driverless cars are a reality; what would happen if that system was hacked? In July such a scenario took place. Hackers remotely accessed a Jeep Cherokee claiming control over the air conditioning system, the windshield wipers, the radio, and oh yes, they killed it in the middle of the highway.
The hacked system, Chrysler’s first version of its Uconnect in-car multimedia system, used Intel (News - Alert)'s ARM-based X-Scale chips. It is because of instances like this that in the U.S. Intel recently announced the formation of an Automotive Security Review Board.
Intel’s goal is to urge the car industry to improve its cyber security since it is proposing the use of its x86 chips for connected automotive information and entertainment systems. People like smart devices and would like to use their smartphones and tablets to control these systems in their homes and their vehicles.
Driverless cars are currently being tested, but it won’t be long before they become available to the public. Intel wants to ensure that what happened to the Jeep Cherokee when hackers took control of it, does not happen to other cars. Intel Security CTO Mike Sentonas said the formation of the board was timely given that South Australia is moving to make driverless car tests legal.
We live in a world where everyone needs to be connected to everything. While this provides a lot of benefits and makes life a lot more convenient, it also provides more ways for cyber hackers to gain access. It is good to see companies like Intel planning ahead and thinking about the possibilities in an effort to resolve issues before they actually become a problem.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson