There seems to be a new hacking tactic in town with security experts detecting a loophole that helps Hackers gain control by just the slot of a USB drive. it is being reported that Mazda automobiles seem to be prime targets, this is mainly due to the many loopholes detected by experts.
These loopholes according to experts would empower the hackers to initiate offensives by simply putting in a Mazda automobiles into the car’s port. This virus was initially uncovered some years back by the help of Mazda3Revolution forum users, these users have gone on to use this technique to hack cars so as to customise the ability to install applications and other relevant functions.
The red flag of this hacking strategy was first brought to the fore by Bugcrowd application security expert Jay Turla, who initiated a project to make automatic car hacks. Synopsys was quoted as saying that the Mazda automobile is not an isolated case in this regard. According to them, other big car brands have certain features that have empowered them to manipulate the systems. This much was made known by a managing consultant at Synopsys, Art Dahnert.
He further went on to say that, since there are so much more computer controlled characteristics and the cars are linked to the internet there is indeed cause for concern, according to him, this can make private cars a powerful tool for evil in the hands of a very good intruder. It was the interest to find out what was happening that led to Tura finding out the ways to Hack Mazda vehicles. According to Him, he only just wanted to ascertain what exactly the attack weaknesses of his car were.
The attack instigated by Turla was based on Mazda’s MZD All In One Tweaks Installer tool. For this assault to work the vehicle engine must be on and it must also be in the accessory mode. As explained by Turla, these loopholes can permit the invader to install Remote Access Transponders into the car’s system.
It should, however, be noted that Mazda has gone on to remediate this weakness on their cars and declared that the loopholes can’t be utilised to carry out these attacks. According to them, Mazda Connect controls a small number of functions in a Mazda car and hence cannot be accessed remotely, this makes a possible attack nearly impossible.
The firm went on further to say in its statement that Mazda Connect may be able to tamper with certain features such as entering without a key, the information that is displayed on the driving display, the reaction of the vehicle leaving a lane and so on. However manipulating any of these functions does not mean one can control the car steering.
In conclusion, the safety of the cars of the customer supersedes any desire for modification of car functions; hence in as much as the firms may want to do all within their power to retain and win more customers by customising their cars, securing the software module is of higher importance.
