Tesla Model S Hacked In Low-Speed Driving

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has come under intense public scrutiny after a pair of hackers took control of a Jeep Cherokee remotely through its Uconnect infotainment system and disabled certain features, including its brakes and transmission. Now, it's Tesla's turn.

A pair of "white-hat" researchers--Kevin Mahaffey, Chief Technology Officer of Lookout; and Marc Rogers, Principal Security Researcher at Cloudflare-- took control of a Tesla Model S electric car and switched it off while the car was running at low speeds. They identified a collection of six security flaws that permitted the hack.

They decided to target Tesla, they said, because of its reputation as a software-centric company--which might mean its software would be less vulnerable than that of legacy automakers. As it turned out, Tesla's Silicon Valley origins were apparently not enough to produce entirely secure vehicle control software.

White-hat hackers are those who search for security flaws in order to push companies to fix them and focus more intently on preventing such flaws in the future. They contrast to "black-hat" hackers whose goals are malicious, destructive, and sometimes criminal.

Mahaffey and Rogers acknowledged that they first had to gain physical access to the Tesla in order to accomplish their hack, requiring a physical connection via Ethernet cable that then allowed them to access the Model S remotely. The pair was able to manipulate the speedometer to show the wrong speed, lower and raise the windows, lock and unlock the car, and turn the car on or off.

At low speeds--5 mph or less--they were able to shut the car down, which turned all the instruments and displays black and engaged the emergency brake--dragging the car to a stop.

At speeds higher than that, however, while the screens went blank and the car's electric drive disengaged, the Tesla continued to offer power steering to the driver, who could steer it safely to the roadside.

Tesla has already issued a patch, the company said, and all Tesla owners were able to update their cars by Thursday, August 6, 2015.

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