Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

GM Performs Stealth Update To Fix Security Bug In OnStar

Posted by timothy on from the just-trust-us dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Back in 2010, long before the Jeep Cherokee thing, some university researchers demonstrated remote car takeover via cellular (old story here). A new Wired article reveals that this was actually a complete exploit of the OnStar system (and was the same one used in that 60 Minutes car hacking episode last year). Moreover, these cars stayed vulnerable for years -- until 2014, when GM created a remote update capability and secretly started pushing updates to all the affected cars.

3 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The only fix... by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Last time I went to buy a car (2010) I was told by two different dealerships (Hyundai and Ford) that requesting anything was no longer "a thing" (though I could buy an aftermarket radio upgrade at full price plus installation and no, they won't deduct the cost of the basic radio from the car). You can't even ask for them to get a car in a certain color (in my case, silver, not some freaky special order limited edition "burnt yellow ice" or whatever). You can buy what they've got on their lot or you can take your money and shove off. Ended up buying a Honda (they had a silver car in stock, so I don't know if they'd have stonewalled me as well).

    Wow..that's strange. I mean, on both the Ford and Hyundai websites, you can select and build out any model of their car offerings you want.....

    I know they want to sell you one from stock, but as far as I know, choosing your car model, color and whatever options are available (some cars do have very limited options, but others have more) is still in the cards for most car shoppers.

    It is just the wireless, phone home control centers in cars that I don't want....hell, I'd actually prefer mechanical analog gauges....one less thing to break due to some electrical gremlin....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. Re:The only fix... by gweilo8888 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Choosing your own color and options is still perfectly feasible. Choosing a car without the potential of a built-in ongoing revenue stream, sadly, is not. And that goes for both OnStar *and* Sirius, both of which I would personally prefer not to have in my next vehicle -- but short of choosing an awful econobox that I dislike in every way, forgoing those unwanted add-ons simply isn't possible any more.

  3. Re:The only fix... by aaron4801 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't own a GM car, but it seems that at least some vehicles will have a separate fuse and/or control system for OnStar:
    3 ways to deactivate OnStar