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Hacking a Car With Music

Posted by timothy on from the lady-gaga's-secret-plan dept.

itwbennett writes "Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington have identified a handful of ways a hacker could break into a car, including attacks over the car's Bluetooth and cellular network systems, or through malicious software in the diagnostic tools used in automotive repair shops. But their most interesting attack focused on the car stereo. By adding extra code to a digital music file, they were able to turn a song burned to CD into a Trojan horse. When played on the car's stereo, this song could alter the firmware of the car's stereo system, giving attackers an entry point to change other components on the car. This type of attack could be spread on file-sharing networks without arousing suspicion, they believe. 'It's hard to think of something more innocuous than a song,' said Stefan Savage, a professor at the University of California."

4 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Bad Programmers by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why are the most ubiquitous products the most buggy?

    Maybe because they (products) need to be cheap and quick to market to become ubiquitous?

    Remember the old "joke"?
    * Cheap
    * Good
    * Fast
    Pick 2


    There are a lot of folks who just by the latest (fast) stuff they can afford (cheap). Quality (good) doesn't enter into the equation.

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  2. Re:Bad Programmers by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Which cd's could help you steal a car more often?

    Rap

    Notice I didn't say music....'cause the terms 'rap' and 'music ' are pretty much exclusive terms....

    :)

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  3. That's it! by celle · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Back to the horse and buggy everyone.
    Or at least to pre '80s cars with a dumb ignition/electrical system instead of this newer butt-kissing junk.

    "The more they try to overtake the plumbing, the easier it is to stuff up the drain. "
    Scotty -- Star Trek III:The Search for Spock. (or was it "search for more money"?)

    1. Re:That's it! by billcopc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If consumers had any say in automobile design, we wouldn't have all this bullshit in the first place. They charge us thousands for a factory stereo worth less than an hundred. They sell us all these proprietary navigation systems that get trounced by an iPhone or Android. They oh-so-cleverly forget to put in a drain plug so you have to pay the dealer $150 for an oil change.

      Yeah, the auto industry is taking its cues from Wall Street: more bullshit = more money.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com