There's a rat under the hood

As cars, trucks and vehicles spruce up on more software, connectivity, intelligence and V2X delights; they also face the cracks that come with the bundle. Security fears here have moved beyond the broken window. Is it turning towards the broken window theory, though? Will attackers accelerate once they see the state of vehicles today?

- Pratima H

Dom Toretto may not have seen this coming. Having raced against the toughest and roughest of rivals, in the most inhospitable conditions ever imagined, he would still not have imagined that a cyber-terrorist would be so mercilessly fast and furious. And that she would push his buttons sitting far away in her armchair, and not on the steering wheel. But what we saw in ‘The Fate of the Furious’ does not seem too far-fetched today. A car fitted with all those tech bells and whistles can be easily hacked or hypnotised and forced to join thousands of others for the nefarious plans of any cipher sitting far away. These cars can cause chaos. They can rob people of their data. And even wreck carmakers with data thefts and ransom demands.

Yes, gone are the days of car burglaries and smash-and-grab attacks. Cyber-attacks are revving up for a new tarmac—the automotive industry.

THERE'S PETROL, SPILLED ON THE ROAD

Let’s reverse a little bit. Somewhere in 2016. As reported in The Guardian, a bunch of researchers from the Keen Security Lab showed how simple it can be for hackers to remotely control a Tesla Model S from a distance of 12 miles.