Dude, where’s my car? Vehicle hacking trends & analysis; #3

Issues

            The present state of vehicle and technology has been in place for years. The engineers have been working on these for years. The electrical engineers have been working on improving wiring harnesses and other systems and mechanical engineers had also worked on various aspects of the vehicle, including lowering the vehicle weight and the autonomous vehicles.

            Even with the years of time spent on the engineering, the manufacturer’s vehicles are still exhibiting security issues. There are still defects in the data retainage with mass amounts of data being leaked in clear text. There are also incorrect information security policies and procedures being applied.

            This is still occurring for a number of reasons. The people involved with driving, engineering, and management of the manufacturing process are all completely aware of the importance of info sec being applied to the vehicle. There have been an abundance of news stories and articles on the recalls, the millions these have each cost to the manufacturers, the loss of rapport, short- or long-term, with the community, and other unknown effects.            

            There continues to be the misguided opinion that security is not really needed, this can be added to the project whenever, and is simply a roadblock to success. As a direct example, the researcher was recently told that info sec was “trampling” on his project’s progress. The direct inference was info sec was only a roadblock to advancement.

            This mindset has to change. Granted the info sec process can slow the process a bit. This slight increase in time is to be expected, as this is another process to consider and complete. This takes time. Security is there to help us not make the same mistake 2, 3, 4, and 5 times. For those who do not study and know history, they are doomed to repeat it.

            It is important to evangelize the need for the appreciation of security and embracing the newest info sec standards and methods. Until this occurs and management fully supports this endeavor, vehicles are going to be not secure, will be breach-able, and if you are targeted, a potential danger for the driver and the driver’s family.