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A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

theintercept.com

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Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#91

Post by userbinator »

a_e_k wrote: post #8

I live in Washington State, where the state legislature recently voted to ban sales of gasoline powered cars after 2030. Aside from the fact that I enjoy drives through some pretty empty parts of the country, especially in the Southwest, where range is a concern (e.g., I drove the Great Basin Highway a few years ago), what bothers me about that measure is this sort of data collection thing. I wouldn't mind a move to…

I guess it's only sales of new cars? Otherwise I can't imagine the classic car community is going to be happy about that...

And laws like that will just make even older vehicles more desirable.

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#92

Post by userbinator »

tashoecraft wrote: post #75
saruken wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here with my '93 Saab. I replaced the smart (for its time) HVAC control system with an Arduino running software I wrote, but otherwise it's bone stock. I'd love an electric too, but the way I figure it, continuing to use a fairly efficient vehicle that already exists is probably better for the environment than buying something new anyway. It takes a lot of resources and material to build a car.

The problem with older cars, is that safety standards have improved dramatically in that time. So while you might have a "dumb" car that isn't spying on you, in the event of an crash, you are going to be much more likely to be injured. If I had to weigh being spied on with being injured, I'd guess the odds of being injured actually impacting my life negatively as greatly higher. I do miss my old Saab though...

"Those who give up freedom for security deserve neither," as the saying goes, and these recent years that saying has gotten quite a bit more meaningful, I think.

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#93

Post by lazyasciiart »

userbinator wrote: post #91
a_e_k wrote: post #8

I live in Washington State, where the state legislature recently voted to ban sales of gasoline powered cars after 2030. Aside from the fact that I enjoy drives through some pretty empty parts of the country, especially in the Southwest, where range is a concern (e.g., I drove the Great Basin Highway a few years ago), what bothers me about that measure is this sort of data collection thing. I wouldn't mind a move to…

I guess it's only sales of new cars? Otherwise I can't imagine the classic car community is going to be happy about that... And laws like that will just make even older vehicles more desirable.

There's already a classic car exception from a lot of road rules, there's a special numberplate for them.

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#94

Post by Kenji »

yardie wrote: post #57

One of the cars I rented (A Ford using the Sync console) had bluetooth contacts synced from the previous renter. It was just sitting there: names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses. Being privacy conscious I deleted the contacts and the 20+ bluetooth profiles stored in the console.

So he was correct in being completely unconcerned about uploading his contacts - after all, you deleted them all without doing anything malicious ;)

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#95

Post by gnfargbl »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #65
yardie wrote: post #57

One of the cars I rented (A Ford using the Sync console) had bluetooth contacts synced from the previous renter. It was just sitting there: names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses. Being privacy conscious I deleted the contacts and the 20+ bluetooth profiles stored in the console.

I am always shocked when people make these sorts of pairings with devices they don't even own. I often see employees pairing person phones with corporate fleet vehicles too. It's unfortunately an example of where people rank convenience over privacy almost every single time.

I'm not sure that most people would see taking a copy of their phone contacts as a serious invasion of privacy. Maybe your mind (and the mind of many HN readers) quickly skips to the various social engineering and metadata attacks that such a dataset could enable, but the average guy on the street is more likely to think "what are you going to do, call my hairdresser?"

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#96

Post by StavrosK »

annoyingnoob wrote: post #66
1024core wrote: post #20

From the marketing material: iVe currently supports AUDI, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Ford, GMC, HUMMER, Hyundai/Kia, INFINITI, Jeep, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, Mercury, Nissan, Pontiac, Ram, Saturn, SEAT, Skoda, SRT, Toyota and Volkswagen Now you know which brands to avoid!

My Volvo has a cellular radio in it that I cannot disable with pulling a fuse for a bunch of things. I've always assumed that the car uploads everything to Volvo without my knowledge or permission. I'll bet law enforcement can just ask Volvo for my data without needing a tool.

I mean, though, you can always disable a cellular radio, it's just a matter of finding it.

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#97

Post by hoseja »

jmnicolas wrote: post #54

So do I have to ride horses to get my privacy back now? I would totally buy a brand new car without all the "visible" electronics (by visible I mean all the screens and doodads. I don't mind ABS and other "invisible" electronics as long as they are reliable which is not a given nowadays). I don't get the point of turning the interior of a car into a smartphone experience. I watched a YT video of a Mercedess class S r…

Reminds me of a Rubberbandits classic.

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#98

Post by StavrosK »

soco wrote: post #47
salawat wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it has a USB port, it can get data. If you have Android auto or native iOS integration, same story. People need to understand, despite the efforts of sticks in the mud like me, industry should be considered malicious by default. If you don't pay attention to what people are doing and call it out, nobody even raises a finger. Those that do are ignored, or told there's a place for people like them with a condescendi…

Via USB you can still use a USB blocker, but if you connect via Bluetooth, nothing can protect you, correct?

You have to explicitly allow contact/phone/sms sharing on the phone when you pair it.

Re: A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone

#100

Post by quickthrowman »

mssundaram wrote: post #59
toss1 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably true, but good luck with that. As my grandfather said: "You might be right, but you don't want to be dead right." CBP already have extra authorities due to border control because crossing the border is not a constitutional right. The most egregious expansion was the declaration that all territory within 100 miles of the border is 'authorized' for all CBP's nonsense. That happens to cover about 90% of the US…

I'm having trouble understanding how 100 miles from the border covers 90% of the US population? Edit: I see - I was thinking only in terms of e.g. the Arizona southern border, however looking up the Constitution Free Zone shows that it means the entire US - California, all states connected to Cananda etc. Eidt 2: Would this mean ALL of Hawaii is in this Constitution Free Zone?

It is all of the US land, sea, and lake (Great Lakes) borders.
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