The Christian Science Monitor reports on the efforts of two hackers who managed to override the systems of a Tesla Model S and turn it off while in low speeds. The article outlines the process by which Kevin Mahaffey and Marc Rogers hacked into the car’s system in order to expose security flaws and thereby encourage Tesla to improve its security. According to the Monitor, Tesla said it has issued a fix to the problem, and that all Tesla owners would be able to upgrade their vehicles by Thursday. The article briefly notes that the same two hackers were responsible for the hack of a Jeep Cherokee, causing the company to issue a recall “under strong pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).”
Wired reports that a pair of researchers “have found that they could plug their laptop into a network cable behind a Model S’ driver’s-side dashboard, start the car with a software command, and drive it away.” In addition, security professional Kevin Mahaffey and Marc Rogers “could also plant a remote-access Trojan on the Model S’ network while they had physical access, then later remotely cut its engine while someone else was driving.”
The New York Post reports that Tesla said on Thursday that it “has sent a software patch to address security flaws in the Tesla Model S sedan that could allow hackers to take control of the vehicle.” The Dallas Morning News reports that the news “follows a similar attack on the Jeep Cherokee last month that prompted Fiat Chrysler to recall 1.4 million vehicles in the U.S.” TIME reports that the ability to quickly install a patch, instead of recalling the vehicles, may prove to be a big advantage for Tesla.
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
