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War with computer hackers hits the road:
The computer industry has battled hackers and destructive software viruses for years. That battle is now spreading to vehicles.
The menu of future electronic features currently being studied by automakers--everything from Internet-based data and entertainment to car-to-car safety communications--has a dark shadow. Any one of them is a potential open window to computer hackers, says Georg Doll, senior director of automotive solutions at Wind River, the automotive software arm of Intel.
'New vulnerability'
"A new vulnerability is opening up," says Doll. "One security threat is that a potential attacker gets control of the car's electronic control unit, or ECU. All the units are connected. You could do something like apply the brakes to a single wheel, and the rest of it you can imagine.
"The second one would be someone seeking personal information about the driver or of people who are using the car."
Wind River creates the unseen "system platforms" that allow cell phones, navigation systems, display monitors, the Internet, and vehicle control systems to talk to each other. The company announced recently that it is working with McAfee, the company that protects PCs against malware, such as viruses, spam, and Trojan horses, to develop a malware system for autos.
Last year, police in Austin, Texas, arrested a 20-year-old former auto dealership employee who a... [Read more]
The computer industry has battled hackers and destructive software viruses for years. That battle is now spreading to vehicles.
The menu of future electronic features currently being studied by automakers--everything from Internet-based data and entertainment to car-to-car safety communications--has a dark shadow. Any one of them is a potential open window to computer hackers, says Georg Doll, senior director of automotive solutions at Wind River, the automotive software arm of Intel.
'New vulnerability'
"A new vulnerability is opening up," says Doll. "One security threat is that a potential attacker gets control of the car's electronic control unit, or ECU. All the units are connected. You could do something like apply the brakes to a single wheel, and the rest of it you can imagine.
"The second one would be someone seeking personal information about the driver or of people who are using the car."
Wind River creates the unseen "system platforms" that allow cell phones, navigation systems, display monitors, the Internet, and vehicle control systems to talk to each other. The company announced recently that it is working with McAfee, the company that protects PCs against malware, such as viruses, spam, and Trojan horses, to develop a malware system for autos.
Last year, police in Austin, Texas, arrested a 20-year-old former auto dealership employee who a... [Read more]
