Nineteen year old German technology researcher David Colombo has taken some unlikely hostages: over twenty-five Teslas in at least thirteen countries across the globe.
Colombo claims he has hacked into the cars’ systems via a third party app. Allegedly, he has the power to lock and unlock the cars doors and windows as well as drive them without a key, and even play music from the speakers. Though he could not do anything about steering, speeding up, or slowing down the car, he still managed to get access to other sensitive data, such as if the driver is inside the car or not.
Though this may seem like the actions of a science fiction villain, Colombo does not plan to use this control for evil. On his Twitter, Colombo states how his most malicious plan would be to Rick Roll the owners of the cars at random. He also believes that the hack-ability of Tesla cars is “incredibly dangerous” and begs questions about the protection measures present.
Colombo is using his hacking stunk to call for more protection within the third party software connected to Teslas. He has stated on multiple occasions that the issue is with this third party and not Teslas. Rather, it is an insecure way that this third party app stores sensitive information that is crucial to linking the car to the program.
Colombo is currently in contact with them to alert them of the issue. His next steps include coordinating with the owners of the hacked vehicles as well as the unnamed third party in order to fix the error. His advice for everyone on security in the digital age? “Don’t connect critical stuff to the internet,” he said. “It’s very simple. And if you have to then make sure it is set up securely.”
Want more about Tesla? Check out this article on the weird new feature in Teslas.
