Note they use a Mac for the hack! Macs are easy to hack!
Security consultants Don Bailey, left, and Mathew Solnik of iSEC Partners demonstrate with a computer how they force cars with certain alarm systems to unlock their doors and start their engines by sending them text messages, in San Francisco, Aug. 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Theft via text: Cars vulnerable to hack attacks
AP August 19, 2011 8:35 AM
(AP) SAN FRANCISCO — Texting and driving don't go well together — though not in the way you might think.
Computer hackers can force some cars to unlock their doors and start their engines without a key by sending specially crafted messages to a car's anti-theft system. They can also snoop at where you've been by tapping the car's GPS system.
That is possible because car alarms, GPS systems and other devices are increasingly connected to cellular telephone networks and thus can receive commands through text messaging. That capability allows owners to change settings on devices remotely, but it also gives hackers a way in.
Researchers from iSEC Partners recently demonstrated such an attack on a Subaru Outback equipped with a vulnerable alarm system, which wasn't identified. With a laptop perched on the hood, they sent the Subaru's alarm system commands to unlock the doors and start the engine.
Their findings show that text messaging is no longer limited to short notes telling friends you're running late or asking if they're free for dinner.
Texts are a powerful means of attack because the devices that receive them generally cannot refuse texts and the commands encoded in them. Users can't block texts; only operators of the phone networks can.... [more]
Security consultants Don Bailey, left, and Mathew Solnik of iSEC Partners demonstrate with a computer how they force cars with certain alarm systems to unlock their doors and start their engines by sending them text messages, in San Francisco, Aug. 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Theft via text: Cars vulnerable to hack attacks
AP August 19, 2011 8:35 AM
(AP) SAN FRANCISCO — Texting and driving don't go well together — though not in the way you might think.
Computer hackers can force some cars to unlock their doors and start their engines without a key by sending specially crafted messages to a car's anti-theft system. They can also snoop at where you've been by tapping the car's GPS system.
That is possible because car alarms, GPS systems and other devices are increasingly connected to cellular telephone networks and thus can receive commands through text messaging. That capability allows owners to change settings on devices remotely, but it also gives hackers a way in.
Researchers from iSEC Partners recently demonstrated such an attack on a Subaru Outback equipped with a vulnerable alarm system, which wasn't identified. With a laptop perched on the hood, they sent the Subaru's alarm system commands to unlock the doors and start the engine.
Their findings show that text messaging is no longer limited to short notes telling friends you're running late or asking if they're free for dinner.
Texts are a powerful means of attack because the devices that receive them generally cannot refuse texts and the commands encoded in them. Users can't block texts; only operators of the phone networks can.... [more]
