Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

theintercept.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 253 posts

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

#131

Post by thatcat »

userbinator wrote: post #92
tashoecraft wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Car wrecks are a safety concern not security.

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

#132

Post by throwawayboise »

sokoloff wrote: post #104
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…

> I don't mind ABS and other "invisible" electronics as long as they are reliable which is not a given nowadays These are pretty damned reliable, IMO, in absolute terms (before even giving credit for the fact than an automobile is pretty harsh environment for electronics with temperature and humidity swings, large voltage transients, poor grounds, mechanical shock/vibration, road salt, corrosion, etc). I've probably…

I've never had an EFI fail (knock on wood) but my main car right now has had a failed ABS for several years (too expensive to repair vs. value of the vehicle).

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

#133

Post by sjg007 »

paaakthecaaa wrote: post #120
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…

Unfortunately, modern regulations forbid manufacturers from easily making a "dumb car". For example, backup cameras are required in new cars. It's the same deal with avoiding wire insulation that rodents enjoy eating. Your only option is to buy a car from before 2000-ish. I'd actually like to find a DIY subculture of taking old car frames and swapping in newer features a bit at a time. People do it with electric moto…

>Unfortunately, modern regulations forbid manufacturers from easily making a "dumb car".

This is not true.

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

#134

Post by throwawayboise »

soco wrote: post #51
LinuxBender wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get a USB Condom [1] for this purpose. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-3rd-Gen-Data-Blocker/dp/B06X...

Thank you, I just bought two! But any idea for if you're connected via Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is always switched off on my phone unless I am in a situation where I explicitly want to connect to something (this has not happened yet). General good advice is to go through you phone settings and turn off everything you know you don't need. If you don't know, turn it off and see if anything you need stops working.

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

#135

Post by ashtonkem »

paaakthecaaa wrote: post #120
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…

Unfortunately, modern regulations forbid manufacturers from easily making a "dumb car". For example, backup cameras are required in new cars. It's the same deal with avoiding wire insulation that rodents enjoy eating. Your only option is to buy a car from before 2000-ish. I'd actually like to find a DIY subculture of taking old car frames and swapping in newer features a bit at a time. People do it with electric moto…

And buying a pre-2000 car involves giving up a lot of safety. That’s before regulators started looking at partial offset crashes, so older cars perform poorly if you clip a pole or oncoming vehicle with one of the headlamps.

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

#136

Post by throwawayboise »

kgwxd wrote: post #34
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…

You can't really buy a "dumb" gas car anymore either. I'm holding onto my 2011 Nissan Versa to the bitter end.

You can buy dumb cars, they just won't be new cars.

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

#137

Post by second--shift »

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…

> So do I have to ride horses to get my privacy back now?

You say this in jest, but depending on your locale and transport needs, you could consider a motorcycle or bicycle. The interface is a bit like riding a horse, just more 21st century (obviously).

Modern bikes come with ABS and fuel injection, and tires these days are great. Motorcycles don't come with any of the annoying road-car nanny-state stuff. Riding a bike is cool too.

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

#138

Post by throwawayboise »

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.

Wirecutters. Find the antenna and clip the wire.

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

#139

Post by Animats »

pdkl95 wrote: post #39
Animats wrote: post #14

“Your phone died, you’re gonna get in the car, plug it in, and there’s going to be this nice convenient USB port for you. When you plug it into this USB port, it’s going to charge your phone, absolutely. And as soon as it powers up, it’s going to start sucking all your data down into the car.” That used to be just something seen in hostile devices. Now it's standard equipment.

Maybe those of us that understand this problem can and should help friends and family buy making/buying them a "USB condom"[1] and strongly encouraging that they use it anytime they want to plug something into USB for charging. This type of device can be as simple and cheap as a USB connector/cable with the data wires cut. [1] A USB dongle that only passed the power pins through for charging. Data is either blocked o…

Doesn't work for all the higher-power USB-C charging options that require negotiation before the higher voltage turns on.

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

#140

Post by silicon2401 »

second--shift wrote: post #137
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…

> So do I have to ride horses to get my privacy back now? You say this in jest, but depending on your locale and transport needs, you could consider a motorcycle or bicycle. The interface is a bit like riding a horse, just more 21st century (obviously). Modern bikes come with ABS and fuel injection, and tires these days are great. Motorcycles don't come with any of the annoying road-car nanny-state stuff. Riding a bi…

If I lived in the countryside (which I wouldn't mind) I would consider this, but otherwise I personally couldn't justify the risk. I forget where I read it, but the phrase "right of weight, not right of way" comes to mind. It's also why I love that my hometown allows riding bikes on sidewalks.
Post reply on HN