Tesla: Hacker takes control of electric cars
Created: 01/19/2022, 09:55 am
By: Simon Mones
More and more technology is used in new cars.
This also makes them interesting for hackers.
Austin/Dinkelsbühl – A lot of technology is used in modern cars.
Regardless of whether it is a driver assistance system, navigation system or digital instruments, all of these functions are controlled by software.
As a result, most cars are now computers on wheels.
However, since many cars also have an Internet connection, this also makes them vulnerable to hackers, as reported by 24auto.de.
IT specialist Dennis Colombo has now revealed how easy it is.
The 19-year-old explained on Twitter that he was in control of 25 Teslas in 13 different countries.
Theoretically, he could have taken over 30 vehicles in China, but he didn't want to mess with the strict cyber security law.
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Tesla: Hacker takes control of electric cars
Using the Internet, he was able to open the doors and windows of the Tesla cars, see their location, operate the music system and control the lights.
Colombo also managed to get the electric cars to run – but he could not steer them.
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Thanks to a vulnerability, a German was able to hack several Teslas.
(Iconic image) © Stefan Zeitz/Imago
"The problem is not in the Tesla infrastructure, but with the owners themselves," explains the German on Twitter.
The cause is said to be the "Tesla Mate" software, which could be hacked.
However, only a few Tesla drivers have installed it.
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Tesla: Hacker finds vulnerability by accident
Colombo discovered the vulnerability by accident while checking a customer's system for vulnerabilities.
“There I found an instance of Tesla software that initially only told me the location of a vehicle, which was unusual.
From then on I wanted to know more and suddenly had numerous vehicles under my control," the 19-year-old explained to Stern.
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Colombo has now been able to locate some of the Tesla owners and help them solve the problem.
He also shared his accidental find on Twitter and thus came into contact with the Tesla security team and the developers of "TeslaMate".
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“I discussed the change requests for the tool with the developers and most of them have already been implemented.
I also made a few wishes for Tesla, but in general I think their security system is solid,” emphasized the IT specialist.
The affected Tesla drivers are said to have been notified in the meantime and will follow further safety regulations in the future.
Tesla also wants to investigate the problem.