An American consumer group has warned that new vehicles are increasingly at risk of piracy, which could lead to the death of thousands of people in the event of a massive cyber attack.
3,000 dead in rush hour hacking
In a report called "Stop button: why connected cars can be killing machines and how to disable them", the Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog sounds the alarm. According to this organization, vehicles connected to the internet, which quickly become the norm, pose a threat to national security. "The safety-critical systems of these vehicles are linked to the internet without adequate security and without the means to disconnect them in the event of piracy of the entire fleet," he worries.
The Consumer Watchdog ensures that industry officials are aware of the risks, which has not stopped them from pushing to deploy this technology in new vehicles, to the detriment of safety. His report is the result of a five-month study based on information from more than 20 whistleblowers in the automotive industry. This group of experts anticipates that hacking an entire car fleet at rush hour could lead to the death of 3,000 people.
"US automakers must end this practice"
"You can control all kinds of aspects of your car from your smartphone, including starting the machine, air conditioning, checking its location," describes an unidentified whistleblower. "If you can do it with your smartphone, anyone can do it on the internet." The report recommends that all connected vehicles be equipped with a "kill switch" for the internet function. "Connecting security critical systems to the internet is, fundamentally, a dangerous project," said Jamie Court, president of the Consumer Watchdog. "US automakers must end this practice or Congress must intervene to protect our transportation system and our national security."
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Representatives of several automobile groups mentioned in the report, such as Ford, General Motors or Toyota, could not be reached immediately. "Automakers know that their customers are committed to their safety and they take a number of safeguards, such as designing vehicles from the ground up with security features and adding cyber security measures to new and redesigned models." reacted Gloria Bergquist, of the association of car manufacturers, in a statement.