Note that this is just for the infotainment head unit, sort of your wall thermostat, not the "entire car". A car is like a lunchbox, there is in fact no "core".
I also hacked my car
51–60 of 93 posts
Re: I also hacked my car
#52Awesome post! When will we be able to operate our car without it spying on us? Will we eventually be able to turn off the "phoning home" function/part?
Disconnecting the cellular antenna from behind my head unit is on my list of things to do.
Telematics units could be separate from IVI, could be hanging off elsewhere or could be independently procured and added at multiple different floors within a car company.
Re: I also hacked my car
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Reminder that those who bought it, voted for it. I truly loathe this argument. I've seen it for cars, seen it for laptops, seen it for mobile devices. For years. People like you really think not purchasing the bad will fix stuff like this? Purchasing decisions let you pick between competitors. That is all. You can't pick the open-source car that does not exist, unless you want to start your own car company just to…
> People like you really think not purchasing the bad will fix stuff like this? Well yes, certainly. A market exists because it has buyers - without them, it withers. And a market exists because there is a need, that producers will ride. «if nobody bought the car», they would not produce it. > If you don't buy any car at all, then you simply don't exist to them So you misunderstood the proposed idea. It is not the in…
There is plenty of blame to go around. From corporate owners, through captured regulators to end users. Between all those parties I think the ones that have to choose between grades of shit are the least to blame. This does not absolve consumers, but it does put into question the framing you presented.
Re: I also hacked my car
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you'd like to experiment with bricking the head unit on your new car you can shop around and find a totaled specimen. If all you need is a working head unit you should be able to get that for It's still an investment, but nowhere near $30k. The real reason nobody bothers with this is that it's just the infotainment, and if you really want a custom one you can just buy a new head unit, or glue a tablet where the ex…
Assuming the head unit isn't DRM locked to a specific VIN, etc. That's then extra cost to chase that rabbit trail.
The one taken off your car to be recycled could be, the new one cannot be because you DYOR and install a compatible third party unit.
Re: I also hacked my car
#55Re: I also hacked my car
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Disconnecting the cellular antenna from behind my head unit is on my list of things to do.
Telematics units could be separate from IVI, could be hanging off elsewhere or could be independently procured and added at multiple different floors within a car company.
I envision a fun game for modern, tech-inclined car owners:
1. Turn the car on;
2. Scan the RF spectrum with SDR hooked up to a directional antenna, until you see something resembling digital TX in the waterfall graph. Note the frequency.
3. Dial in your microwave gun to that frequency, bathe the car in sweet sweet RF watts.
4. Confirm with SDR the signal is no longer there.
5. Repeat until you're reasonably confident you fried every transceiver that shouldn't be there.
(6. If the car doesn't start anymore, ask manufacturer for refund and suggest putting current protection circuits behind their radios.)
--
More seriously though, step 2 might be useful to locate more antennas to snip. Like a fox hunt, but in your garage.
Re: I also hacked my car
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
If I'm hacking something I own, it's also highly likely that I am capable of fixing it and doing any needed maintenance. Part of the hacker mindset is not letting the fear of voiding a warranty stop you from truly owning the product you paid for.
Hacking a linux box using USB tricks and maintaining the mechanics of a car - probably not a huge skills overlap there. But I doubt he's going to be in trouble when getting the car serviced. If he is worried he could roll back any changes before sending it in.
There's more of a mindset overlap.
Re: I also hacked my car
#58First time posting here on HN, I hope you find my latest hacking adventure interesting. Inspired by another post here on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447650
Could you have used ssh? It might have been as easy as using nftp to upload a new /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file. Or not, depending on how they have ssh configured.
Re: I also hacked my car
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
> their $30k+ vehicle and risk bricking it. If you want a car that doesn’t spy on you Reminder that those who bought it, voted for it. In economics, wallet is voting power - what you buy you feed and endorse.
> Reminder that those who bought it, voted for it. I truly loathe this argument. I've seen it for cars, seen it for laptops, seen it for mobile devices. For years. People like you really think not purchasing the bad will fix stuff like this? Purchasing decisions let you pick between competitors. That is all. You can't pick the open-source car that does not exist, unless you want to start your own car company just to…
> Nobody who buys the car is voting for it to spy on them, unless I guess their hypothetical dystopian future insurance gives them a bonus/discount for allowing them to view the data from the vehicle and they're actually okay with that.
This is not the future, it is today.
https://www.progressive.com/auto/discounts/snapshot/
https://www.geico.com/driveeasy/
https://www.allstate.com/drivewise
https://www.amica.com/content/microsites/streetsmart.html
https://www.statefarm.com/customer-care/download-mobile-apps...
Also, almost nobody cares that their car manufacturer can track their car’s location. They already accept that they have a mobile device on them that tracks them everywhere, and at least the mobile networks plus government knows where they are.
And they also use electronic payments everywhere with “loyalty” discounts so all the banks/payment networks know where they are, and so do merchants.
Re: I also hacked my car
#60Awesome post! When will we be able to operate our car without it spying on us? Will we eventually be able to turn off the "phoning home" function/part?
If you wait long enough, the problem will fix itself.
My 2012 Nissan Leaf is equipped with a 3G cellular modem (upgraded from the 2G that it originally shipped with). Since the providers all shut down their 3G networks, it's been effectively offline.