GM heads off security issues with Onstar service
A hack enables a person to take control of a car’s locks, horn, alarm and engine, which can be controlled through a smartphone app. The company said it already has a fix.
The auto industry is the latest to deal with hacking after Wired highlighted a vulnerability in General Motors’ OnStar system.
The hack essentially allowed someone “to track a target vehicle, effortlessly unlock it, trigger the horn and alarm or even start its engine—everything but put the car in gear and drive it away, one function that thankfully still requires the presence of the driver’s key,” Wired reported.
All a hacker must do to control the wireless functions of GM’s Onstar system is hide a small and relatively inexpensive Wi-Fi hotspot device somewhere on the car’s body.
Hours after the security issue was revealed, General Motors said that it had fixed the problem, and that its users wouldn’t have to do a thing to get the fix.
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