Hackers want your car connected

Hackers want your car connected

Talking about telephones and connected cities is no longer surprising. But to do it of intelligent or autonomous vehicles, that can be conducted in network, are already greater words

   The automobile industry is preparing for a double revolution . The one that will reach engines where oil can be devoured by electricity or other energy systems, and also the total disembarkation of technology in the digital brains of vehicles .

The landing of the 5G communication networks, scheduled for 2020 , arrives with full autonomous driving, that is, without a driver. Today on the Spanish roads circulate vehicles with level SAE (society of automotive engineers) 0, 1, 2 and 3.

   In these stadiums, cars are equipped with technological systems to help drivers, but they need human intervention to shoot. In the United States, the great technology companies like Google and Uber are already working on autonomous driving , even more typical of Hollywood blockbusters.

Dodging accidents and legal problems with different public administrations, builders and, above all, programmers are now facing a new challenge: the cybersecurity of these new vehicles. To the usual protection measures are added others more typical of computers, smartphones and large computers.

Experts in cybersecurity have already warned of the little importance given to date in this field and the ease of exploitation of thousands of lines of code in many cases, plain text. For this reason, the technicians of the firm S21sec has focused on vehicles equipped with wireless TPMS systems.

These cars mount on each tire a sensor that measures various values ​​and transmits them periodically to an Engine Control Unit (ECU). In case of significant loss of pressure, for example, the driver is notified. "The radio signal used does not correspond to any open standard, although thanks to the reverse engineering work the format of the main manufacturers has been documented," he explains.

With only 40 euros, the engineers created a receiving station with a range of up to 400 meters and that allowed them to capture the TPMS of the vehicles that circulated around its radius of action. From there, these experts in cybersecurity managed to easily modify the codes of each vehicle.

Technological workshops
With a single action, the operation of the vehicle can be altered, for example, by turning on the indicator light that indicates low pressure in the tire, so that the vehicle enters safety mode by limiting the speed on a motorway. «The TPMS systems have meant an important improvement in road safety. But like any new application also involve the introduction of computer security problems that did not exist in traditional systems, "they say.

The new models mix avant-garde bodies , the most perfect finishes and thousands of lines of code that give life to the technological brains installed in the switchboards of all the vehicles that leave the factory.

A perfect language for machines , but with small holes ideal for turning a car into a remote control for cybercriminals. It was discovered in 2015 by two 'hackers': Charlie Miller, a security engineer on Twitter, and Chris Valasek, director of security research at the Ioactive automobile. They designed a 'software' to hijack a Jeep Cherokee connected to the internet, which led them to have their remote driving.

The workshops are already prepared to be more technological and the security companies are also recycling. The result of this is the C2a Security software called AutoArmor, which monitors the activity of the car's ECUs, the computer control units that operate the vehicle. With this they detect anomalies or external attacks of the 'hackers'.

It will touch to update the insurance
90% of traffic accidents are caused by human errors, according to the DGT. Autonomous vehicles can generate a new reality, modifying the way in which they travel, the regulations and also changing the business of insurers.

By 2020 all insurance companies will have to provide their clients with other services and benefits that fit the new driving model. And is that all occupants of the car will be considered passengers, including the driver.

But the first accidents with this type of vehicle have already occurred and the question is who is responsible. The figure of the driver does not exist in them, and that is why the insurer has to define who will be responsible for that role. "In these cases will be the manufacturer of the vehicle, as well as the brand of the technological equipment ('software', GPS, etc.), who respond about the incident," point out in Mapfre.

However, the owner of the car will also have a share of responsibility. Thus, to clarify the facts, it will be necessary to analyze whether the person was driving, or whether the car was already doing it automatically. "As it happens now with traditional cars, study the circumstances that have caused the loss will remain key to determine who is responsible," they add to the insurer.

Motor insurance accounts for around 619,000 million euros in insurance policies every year in the world, which accounts for 42% of all property or accident insurance. Despite these large numbers, companies with autonomous vehicle policies still have a difficult time discerning the specific responsibility of each actor in cases where they have been 'hacked'.