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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.

2 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. The only fix... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only fix for the security problems with Onstar and any similar system is total removal of the hardware and software!!!!!

  2. That will never happen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What you propose is at variance with how the market works.

    People will get upset every time an exploit is found. The vendor will give assurances that the problem has been fixed (whether it has or not), and business will proceed as usual.

    You can pound your fist and say it shouldn't be that way all you like. But it is that way. All you can really do is figure out the best way to adapt to it.

    Trying to control the world will only bring you stress.