Hackers Take Control Of A Jeep Cherokee

In 2013, a couple of IT specialists presented a project that they were working on: by connecting a computer to a Ford Escape and a Toyota Prius, they managed to control various functions of the vehicles. At the time however, both manufacturers said that there was no cause for alarm, since said computer had to be physically plugged into the vehicles.

Recently however, Wired published a somewhat worrying article: Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek can hack into a 2014 Jeep Cherokee wirelessly via a 3G connection; they can then navigate their way through the truck’s computer and mess with the HVAC system, the radio, engage the wipers… Even worse, to demonstrate what they could do, they asked the article’s author to drive around with the Jeep. While he was on the highway, the hackers slammed the transmission into neutral and shut off the engine. They also proved that they were capable of disabling the brakes and even turning the steering wheel. It’s also relatively easy to follow the vehicle via its GPS system.

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However, you don’t have to worry about your Jeep being hacked into: Miller and Valasek sent the results of their work to Chrysler, who in turn updated the software in their vehicles; you only need to go to a Chrysler dealership to get an update for your Uconnect system.

The hackers hope that even if the Cherokee is now protected, other manufacturers will see that the Internet access they are so eager to install into vehicles needs to be protected.