The Hacker News — Cyber Security, Hacking, Technology News

The Internet of things or connected devices are the next big concerns, as more Internet connectivity means more access points which mean more opportunities for hackers.

When it comes to the threat to Internet of Things, Car Hacking is a hot topic.

Since many automobiles companies are offering cars that run mostly on the drive-by-wire system, a majority of functions are electronically controlled, like instrument cluster, steering, brakes, and accelerator.

No doubt these auto-control systems in vehicles improve your driving experience, but at the same time increase the risk of getting hacked.

Recently, security researcher Benjamin Kunz Mejri have disclosed zero-day vulnerabilities that reside the official BMW web domain and ConnectedDrive portal and the worst part: the vulnerabilities remain unpatched and open for hackers.

Benjamin from Vulnerability-Labs has discovered both the vulnerabilities.

The first one is a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) session vulnerability which resides in the official BMW ConnectedDrive online service web-application.

BMW ConnectedDrive is a in-car infotainment system offers a wide range of intelligent services and apps that provide you with information and entertainment during your journey, as well as allows you to create driver profiles, receive-read-reply to e-mails, manage connected Smart Home devices, helps to regulate the heating/lights/alarm system and get live traffic information.

BMW's VIN is a unique code used to identify individual vehicle models connected to the service.

However, the flaw located in the session management of VIN usage could allow attackers to bypass the secure validation procedures of the VIN remotely using a live session.

This session validation vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker with a low-privilege web-application user account and no user interaction.

This could allow the attacker to manipulate VIN numbers and configuration settings, like compromising registered or VIN numbers via ConnectedDrive.

The second flaw is a Client side cross-site scripting vulnerability that resides in the official BMW online service web-application in the password reset the token system.

The security vulnerability doesn’t require privileged web-application user; rather a low user interaction is needed to inject a malicious payload into the vulnerable module.

Successful exploitation of the security flaw allows a remote attacker to inject malicious script codes into the affected module, potentially resulting in session hijacking, phishing attacks, redirecting users to malicious source, and manipulation of affected or connected application modules.

Vulnerability Labs reported the security issues to the automaker in February this year, to which BMW responded after two months. Since there was no announcement by the company about the fixes to these issues, the researcher went public on July 7.

This is not the first time researchers have reported threats to connected cars. Previous research demonstrated hackers capabilities to hack a car remotely and control its steering and brakes and to disable car's critical functions like airbags by exploiting security bugs affecting significant automobiles.

Keeping these risks in mind, in April this year, the Michigan state Senate proposed two bills that introduce life sentences in prison for people who hack into cars’ electronic systems. Also, the FBI issued a public announcement warning people about the risks of car hacking.

Yes, you heard it right.

You can now end up your whole life behind bars if you intentionally hack into a vehicle's electronic system or exploit its internal flaws.

Car Hacking is a hot topic. Today, many automobiles companies are offering cars that run mostly on the drive-by-wire system, which means the majority of functions are electronically controlled, from instrument cluster to steering, brakes, and accelerator.

No doubt these auto-control electronic systems improve your driving experience, but at the same time also increase the risk of getting hacked.

Previous research demonstrated hackers capabilities to hijack a car remotely and control its steering, brakes and transmission, and to disable car's crucial functions like airbags by exploiting security bugs affecting significant automobiles.

Messing with Cars can Cost You

Keeping these risks in mind, the Michigan state Senate has proposed two bills which, if passed into law, will introduce life sentences in prison for people who hack into cars’ electronic systems.

These are the first of several legislations on car hacking that the Michigan Senate is taking up, according to reports by Automotive News.

If it becomes law, the bills will be a felony for a person to "intentionally access or cause access to be made to an electronic system of a motor vehicle to willfully destroy, impair, damage, alter or gain unauthorized control of the motor vehicle."

The move comes over a month after the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a public service announcement to warn people about the dangers of car hacking.

Though the proposed bills are an attempt to shorten the risks of digital attacks on connected vehicles, it could discourage security researchers and white hat hackers from finding potentially critical vulnerabilities in vehicle systems.

The proposal, Senate Bills 927 and 928, has been sent to the Senate's judiciary committee. Sen. Mike Kowall, the prime sponsor of the bills, said that the idea here is to be proactive on the car hacking issues and "try to keep up with technology," instead of waiting for something bad to happen.

"I hope that we never have to use it," Kowall said. "That is why the penalties are what they are. The potential for severe injury and death are pretty high."

The recall of 1.4 million Fiat Chrysler car models in 2015 proved that car hacking is real and worse than any major hacking theft targeting banks or financial institution, because:

The money could be recovered, but not the Lives.