cdb wrote:
> Researchers at U of C and U of Washington have been testing how
> secure car computers are from hacking.
>
> The result is that many vehicles have little immunity at all to being
> remotely controlled, with a remote user able to make the car break,
> switch the engine off and lock all the doors. All this via the OBD
> port. However as they point out, as yet, this is not too easy to
> accomplish.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10119492.stm

I understand the hype is needed to sell ad space, but the fact remains that 
you need to plant a device inside a vehicle, in order to be able to do the 
things they describe. This can be done with a bit more difficulty, by wiring 
up the door locks/ignition/etc directly, bypassing OBD.

The only time it becomes truly dangerous, is when there is a wireless comm 
link to OBD. Last year, GM Onstar was used for the first time to remotely 
stop a stolen truck:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/onstar-gps-carjacking.html

To be honest, I find it kind of creepy.

Althogh doing it on your own car is fun, you can roll windows up/down from 
your cell phone (a customer did it using OBDLink Bluetooth).

Best regards,

Vitaliy Maksimov
ScanTool.net, LLC
+1 623 582-2366
http://www.scantool.net 

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