Can The Police Remotely Drive Your Stolen Car Into Custody? (thenextweb.com)

In 2009 GM equipped 17,000 of its units with "remote ignition block," a kill switch that can turn off the engine if the car is stolen. But that was just the beginning, according to a story shared by long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo: Imagine this: You're leaving work, walking to your car, and you find an empty parking spot -- someone stole your brand new Tesla (or whatever fancy autonomous car you're driving). When you call the police, they ask your permission for a "takeover," which you promptly give them. Next thing you know, your car is driving itself to the nearest police station. And here's the kicker -- if the thief is inside he will remain locked inside until police can arrest them.

This futuristic and almost slapstick scenario is closer than we think, says Chief Innovation Officer Hans Schönfeld who works for the Dutch police. Currently, his team has already done several experiments to test the crime-halting possibilities of autonomous cars. "We wanted to know if we can make them stop or drive them to certain locations," Schönfeld tells me. "And the result is: yes, we probably can."
The Dutch police tested Tesla, Audi, Mercedes, and Toyota vehicles, he reports, adding "We do this in collaboration with these car companies because this information is valuable to them, too.

"If we can hack into their cars, others can as well."

Comments

Re:unintended consequences:

[arth1]

The thief is a criminal sure, but they don't deserve to die just because they took your property.

You must not live in the US. Even a threat to property can be met with deadly force in some states.

Re:friendly howto for new car owners

[Cbs228]

This may well work for OnStar devices. For Fiat Chrysler vehicles which use the "UConnect" system, the process is much more difficult. Old forum threads suggest that the radio's "head unit" itself is a self-contained spy device.

The head unit has a cellular modem which is physically soldered to the rest of the system. This makes it difficult to remove non-destructively. One can't simply remove the SIM—there is none—and the modem has an on-chip antenna which similarly cannot be unplugged. It might be possible to replace the "radio" with an aftermarket part, but said part would also need to manage the climate control and other passenger comfort systems.

I can understand how having fewer boxes and plugs can streamline the assembly process and improve reliability. In this case, however, I can't help but wonder this is a deliberate, anti-consumer design choice. At the very least, these systems ought to include some type of "RFKILL" switch or functionality.

If this sort of thing is important to you, research carefully before you buy.