ChrisValasek
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Jeep hackers get new jobs at Uber's autonomous-car lab
Security researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek have made a habit of getting the attention of the automotive world with their vehicle hacks. This year, the team showed an exploit that would allow hackers to remotely hijack a Jeep. That hack resulted in Fiat Chrysler recalling 1.4 million vehicles. The hack apparently got the attention Uber which has hired the team to work in its Advanced Technologies Center research laboratory in Pennsylvania. In addition to researching mapping and safety, the car hailing service has been dabbling in autonomous vehicles at the research center. Miller -- who previously worked on security at Twitter -- tweeted that he would begin working for Uber this coming Tuesday. It's smart of Uber to bring on two renowned security researchers to make sure those autonomous cars don't get compromised while rolling around with passengers. The last thing it wants is to lose control of its future fleet of robot cars during surge pricing.
Automotive takeover schemes to be detailed at Defcon hacker conference
It's not like Toyota hasn't already faced its fair share of Prius braking issues, but it appears that even more headaches are headed its way at Defcon this week. Famed white hats Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek are preparing to unleash a 100-page paper at the annual hacker conference in Las Vegas, and notably, hacks that overtake both Toyota and Ford automotive systems will be positioned front and center. The information was gathered as part of a multi-month project that was funded by the US government, so it's important to note that the specifics of the exploits will not be revealed to the masses; they'll be given to the automakers so that they can patch things up before any ill-willed individuals discover it on their own. Using laptops patched into vehicular systems, the two were able to force a Prius to "brake suddenly at 80 miles an hour, jerk its steering wheel, and accelerate the engine," while they were also able to "disable the brakes of a Ford Escape traveling at very slow speeds." Of course, given just how computerized vehicles have become, it's hardly shocking to hear that they're now easier than ever to hack into. And look, if you're really freaked out, you could just invest in Google Glass and walk everywhere.
