Great car-hacking scandal exposed - Independent Online
London - Tens of thousands of cars are vulnerable to thieves using electronic hacking, according to researchers whose findings were suppressed by a major manufacturer for two years. The full details of the security loophole, which can now be revealed, show a widely used electronic security device designed to prevent thieves from breaking in and driving off with vehicles could easily be disabled by criminals. Three university researchers from Britain and Holland discovered that immobilisers fitted to more than 100 car makes had weak security that could be defeated - in some cases within a few minutes. Critics claim the move could have a “chilling effect” on security research in the UK but VW defended it, stressing the firm went to “great lengths” to prevent “unauthorised individuals [gaining] access to our cars. The researchers, Birmingham University's Flavio Garcia and Roel Verdult and Baris Ege, from Radbound University in Nijmegen, fought the ban, saying they identify security flaws so they can be fixed. Despite this a High Court judge agreed to the ban - saying he believed publication would “facilitate car crime”. The researchers denied their paper teaches people to steal vehicles, and argued that the ban on publication denied the car-buying public crucial information about the security of their vehicles. Source: www.iol.co.za
