Automation of automobiles makes hacking very dangerous

Kimmo Huosionmaa B.Sc.,BBA

Today cars have more automatic tools than ever before, and that's why people are beginning to consider about the hacking of automobiles electronics, what controls motor and brakes. In some movies, hackers will set the car's computer in position, that it can't decrease fuel injection system's power and same times they will cut the brakes of, by hacking an ABS-system as it doesn't use brakes anymore. And results will be disastrous.


But hacking an automobile is not quite a new thing, and I's heard an interesting story about this kind of criminal activities. It's possible to take a car's motor under a remote control without any skills with hacking or computer technology. This method works especially old-time cars and motorcycles. In this method is no need for special relationship and explosives and all part what is needed are free to buy. 


The thing is that "the bad guy" will put small servomotor to cars or motorbikes carburetor's flap, and that equipment will open carburetor flap when it will be used by remote control.  That little thing might cause horrible accident-look things in the highway or especially in the town are, or what do you think about the situation, where somebody puts the gas pedal down when the traffic light is green. I wonder why this risk that somebody put's that part in somebody's car motor is not mentioned as a threat to people safety. 


Those little things work also with modern cars. They must just put under the hood, in that position, where this little thing is just pulling the gas pedal down. Then most of the driver's will go to panic, and I wonder, why this kind of "steampunk" solutions ever mentioned as a treat. When we are talking about the robot- or other modern cars, they are more complicated than those "steam-age" cars are. And if somebody wants to hack that kind of automobiles, will that person have two things, what he or she can do. 


First thing is to find out access-codes to that car's systems, but that might be really difficult. But sometimes the owner or the dealer will forget them to table, and hackers might able to get the code looking the table with camera or telescope. Another way is nastier, and it is easier to execute. In this scenario "the bad guy" just replaces the electronic control box with another, what that person has been modified. That thing is a very serious threat if somebody takes his car to some shadowy working garage. There those people can change that "black box" under the car's hood, and if they are changed the program in that computer, could the situation become very dangerous. Only thing what "the bad guy" must get "black box" what fits that car model, and make necessary changes in its programs.  


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