When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#1

Post by Bender » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 4:48 PM UTC

When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’
krebsonsecurity.com

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#2

Post by kube-system » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:16 PM UTC

Yikes. This is a serious safety issue. Imagine if this wasn’t an EV, and someone started a car while in the new owner’s garage.

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#3

Post by river99 » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:17 PM UTC

First thing I do in any rental car is turn off any remote tracking, mobile apps, clear out bluetooth and turn off wifi if equipped.

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#4

Post by vearwhershuh » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:30 PM UTC

The issue here isn't that this guy can see and control the the vehicle without the next owner knowing. It's that the entire corporate world and government can see and control the vehicle without the next owner knowing. This is increasingly true across the board, regardless of trim level.

I was excited about Rivian as a family friendly electric vehicle. Then they decided to add Alexa (due to an investment by Amazon) and reminded me why I will likely die driving my 1980s SUV.

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#5

Post by slumdev » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:31 PM UTC

Ford (and other manufacturers) need to own the reset process. There's no way you can rely on car dealerships to do this.

https://www.fi-magazine.com/311144/but-the-dude-can-sell

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#6

Post by bcrosby95 » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:38 PM UTC

I learned long ago never to trust dealerships to do what they say they will, unless I see them do it.

When I traded in a car, among other things I signed was a release of liability for the DMV. They claimed they would submit it.

They never did. 3 months later the DMV called asking about the lack of insurance for the car. I told them what happened, and they said its common for dealerships to never send in this paperwork. So, yeah, lesson learned. I can't imagine what a pain in the ass this would have been if the car were involved in an accident.

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#7

Post by Johnny555 » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:39 PM UTC

I always do an infotainment system reset when I rent a car -- both when I start using the car, and just before I return it. I don't know what apps or other data other people synced, and I don't want anything I synced to be available to the next person.

I'd be doubly sure to reset the car at the end of a lease.

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#8

Post by tzs » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

There are enough street labels visible on the map of the car location in the screenshot from the myford site to figure out where that is.

I was kind of surprised the article did not obfuscate that.

It looks like it is at one of these businesses in Milford, CT: Stevens Ford Lincoln, Stevens Ford of Milford, Steven's Collision Center, or Colony Ford.

I wonder if one of those Ford dealers is the dealer that failed to do the reset when processing the lease return?

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#9

Post by _sbrk » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

river99 wrote: post #3

First thing I do in any rental car is turn off any remote tracking, mobile apps, clear out bluetooth and turn off wifi if equipped.

While always good to turn non-essential features off, this doesn't mean that you can't be tracked. Many vehicles, even if non-rental, now come standard with cellular voice/data connections. GM pioneered this with OnStar in the mid-90s[1], and other manufacturers soon followed. Combined with the "black box" recording of _every_ sensor in your car, there can be some pretty damning evidence against the driver in the event of a wreck, etc.

There are no switches for the driver to disable regarding the data inside your ECU[2], or Event Data Recorder[3].

It's not that you can't get away with anything anymore, it comes down to minor infractions are now enforceable (with the lucrative fines that follow) and that your car can present evidence against you.

[1] https://smart.gi-de.com/automotive/a-brief-history-of-car-co...

[2] https://www.plaintiffmagazine.com/recent-issues/item/beware-...

[3] https://www.jstor.org/stable/26167752?seq=1

Re: When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

#10

Post by gambler » Thu, Feb 06, 2020, 5:42 PM UTC

People are now beginning to realize that cellphones send out too much data. Well, modern cars are far worse. Do you know that some of them have weight sensors in seats? Do you know that they send this info out? On your phone, you at least have some control. You have zero control over your car's cell connection. I'm not even sure you can disable over-the-wire updates.