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When Your Used Car Is a Little Too ‘Mobile’

krebsonsecurity.com

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

#21

Post by freepor »

vearwhershuh wrote: post #4

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) a…

Certainly your 1980s SUV is certainly the thing most likely to be the location of your death, unless you’re older than ~70.

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

#22

Post by h2odragon »

I'm thankful our 2004 & 2002 cars are as free of "smart" as they are. They're aging out on us and we've been looking at replacements; the used market is contaminated with screens and systems that we DO NOT WANT.

I wonder how difficult it will be to strip all that shit out when the time comes. What's going to have to be stubbed out or emulated to make the car run and how difficult will that be? Are we looking at things like people rolling their own EverQuest shards yet?

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

#23

Post by draw_down »

vearwhershuh wrote: post #4

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) a…

> The issue here isn't that this guy can see and control the the vehicle without the next owner knowing

How is that not the issue? It is exactly the issue.

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

#24

Post by correct_horse »

freepor wrote: post #21
vearwhershuh wrote: post #4

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) a…

Certainly your 1980s SUV is certainly the thing most likely to be the location of your death, unless you’re older than ~70.

The same could be said of any 2020 SUV. Cars are dangerous.

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

#25

Post by ng7j5d9 »

slumdev wrote: post #5

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

How would manufacturers know when cars change hands?

Sure, in the example in the article, it was a lease that was turned in to a Ford dealer. But I've sold cars by handing my keys and a title to an individual who handed me money. The manufacturer of the car was not involved in the transaction.

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

#26

Post by ReptileMan »

_sbrk wrote: post #9
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 eve…

Can't you just cut the antenna? Or just improvise a Faraday cage around it.

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

#27

Post by techopoly »

LinuxBender wrote: post #19
nkrisc wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On many (all?) modern cars it's also visible at the bottom of driver's side of the windshield. A car's VIN is public information.

I have a small piece of black paper over mine. I am happy to let a law enforcement officer view it if they ask.

Not a bad idea. As far as I know it's not required to be visible

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

#28

Post by reaperducer »

speedgoose wrote: post #15
kube-system wrote: post #2

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.

Can you start a ICE vehicle remotely? I thought it was mostly a EV thing, some people have aftermarket kits.

Can you start a ICE vehicle remotely?

With a keyfob for decades, and with an app for years. It's virtually standard equipment in certain states, along with plug-in engine block heaters.

I thought it was mostly a EV thing

A guy at work likes to start his massive Ford Raptor with his phone at the end of the day and set off the alarms of the cars he's parked between.

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

#29

Post by reaperducer »

ng7j5d9 wrote: post #25
slumdev wrote: post #5

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

How would manufacturers know when cars change hands? Sure, in the example in the article, it was a lease that was turned in to a Ford dealer. But I've sold cars by handing my keys and a title to an individual who handed me money. The manufacturer of the car was not involved in the transaction.

How would manufacturers know when cars change hands?

The same way that every single marketing company, bank, finance and insurance company does. It's public information.

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

#30

Post by josefresco »

A low tech example, but I bought a used car a couple years ago with navigation and still saved in the system were addresses the previous owner had entered. From this simple list, I was able to determine where they lived, and if was curious enough the businesses and homes they visited, or at least used navigation to find.
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