Photo: Eric Evenchick
As autonomous technologies are starting to show their faces in the automotive industry and cars are starting to look more like computers on wheels than...cars, it won’t be long before car-hackers will start springing up like mushrooms after the rain. Important notice: by hackers we don’t mean thieves.
Do you remember how carmakers like Audi and Mercedes-Benz came up with apps that can make your car park itself and or meet you in front of your porch before a trip? Well, hackers could do that real soon if they manage to get hands on this $60 gadget, according to Wired.
It goes by the name of CANtact and it creates a connection between a given computer and a car or truck’s OBD2 port. In other words, we’re looking at an affordable interface that can allow anyone with a laptop or a computer to control every system inside a car, including its windows and brakes. Are you as terrified as we are?
Eric Evenchick is the mastermind behind such a maleficent yet simple device but according to him, the gizmo is meant to be a security solution for cars, designed to help users find and get rid of vulnerabilities.
For our own peace of mind, Evenchick says that CANtact only works for some specific issues - those that can be accessed with the on-board computer, not via remote attacks. Well, let’s hope villains are not reading this because all drivers are going to need a superhero if the device falls into the wrong hands.
It goes by the name of CANtact and it creates a connection between a given computer and a car or truck’s OBD2 port. In other words, we’re looking at an affordable interface that can allow anyone with a laptop or a computer to control every system inside a car, including its windows and brakes. Are you as terrified as we are?
Eric Evenchick is the mastermind behind such a maleficent yet simple device but according to him, the gizmo is meant to be a security solution for cars, designed to help users find and get rid of vulnerabilities.
For our own peace of mind, Evenchick says that CANtact only works for some specific issues - those that can be accessed with the on-board computer, not via remote attacks. Well, let’s hope villains are not reading this because all drivers are going to need a superhero if the device falls into the wrong hands.
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