Fiat Chrysler has recalled 1.4 million cars after security researchers demonstrated a hack that can take over nearly every function of the car, BBC has reported.
Researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek worked with the car manufacturer over nine months to disclose the critical vulnerability. They demonstrated the hack in action on a St. Louis highway with Wired journalist Andy Greenberg driving a Jeep Cherokee 70 miles per hour when Miller and Valasek quickly took control of the vehicle.
The models now subject to a voluntary recall in order to update the vulnerable software are all from 2013 or later. They include MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles, a number of Ram models, Jeep Grand Cherokees and Cherokee SUVs, Dodge Durango SUVs, Charger Sedans, and Challenger sports coupes.
Fiat Chrysler stressed that they don’t think the hack has been seen in the wild and that it “required unique and extensive technical knowledge, prolonged physical access to a subject vehicle and extended periods of time to write code.”
https://twitter.com/csoghoian/status/623482995110973440
Hours after the hack was first revealed to the public, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced new legislation that calls for new digital-security standards in automobiles.
H/T BBC | Photo via Tim Malabuyo / flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman