The FBI has warned that modern vehicles are becoming “increasingly vulnerable” to cyber attacks and warned that the safety of plug-in telematics devices is paramount.
The FBI and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US, warned that drivers need to be wary of cyber threats.
The announcement comes after hackers had infiltrated and taken control of a car while driving on the freeway in an experiment for technology site Wired.
“Although vulnerabilities may not always result in an attacker being able to access all parts of the system, the safety risk to consumers could increase significantly if the access involves the ability to manipulate critical vehicle control systems,” says the FBI.
The security and safety of plug-in telematics devices, which use the cars OBD-II slot under the dashboard, were also mentioned for monitoring as one manufacturer suffered a hack of their device last year.
“More recently, there has been a significant increase in the availability of third-party devices that can be plugged directly into the diagnostic port,” says the FBI.
“These devices, which may be designed independent of the vehicle manufacturer, include insurance dongles and other telematics and vehicle monitoring tools. The security of these devices is important as it can provide an attacker with a means of accessing vehicle systems and driver data remotely.
“Vehicle owners should check with the security and privacy policies of the third-party device manufacturers and service providers, and they should not connect any unknown or un-trusted devices to the OBD-II port.”
EROAD says it agrees with the FBI’s report.
“Aftermarket devices that plug into the OBD-II port on vehicles pose a risk,” says EROAD communications manager Sara Goessi.
“Anything you plug into your vehicle should come from a reputable vendor or better yet, not even plug into the OBD-II port,” she says.
“The real risk is that many telematics devices run the danger of being hacked without your knowledge,” says Goessi.
“This is why EROAD has had our hardware independently reviewed to identify any vulnerabilities to prevent hacking. We also purposely do not connect to the OBD-II port. EROAD also manufactures all our equipment under supervision in our factory,” she says.
