25 Tesla Cars Worldwide Hacked by 19-Year-Old
Electronic car theft is one thing. Remotely accessing and controlling a vehicle is another.
David Colombo, a security and hacking expert just 19 years of age, claims in a series of posts on Twitter that he has discovered a software flaw in Tesla’s systems allowing him to access more than 25 cars in 13 countries around the globe.
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Apparently, he is able to find out if someone is inside the vehicle, unlock the doors, control the windows, headlights and radio, start the car and disable Sentry Mode using just his computer.
Nevertheless I now can remotely run commands on 25+ Tesla‘s in 13 countries without the owners knowledge.
— David Colombo (@david_colombo_) January 11, 2022
Regarding what I‘m able to do with these Tesla‘s now.
This includes disabling Sentry Mode, opening the doors/windows and even starting Keyless Driving.
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Colombo says he cannot intervene with someone driving (other than starting music at max volume or flashing the lights) nor can he drive these Teslas remotely, which is a relief.
According to his research, only a small number of Tesla cars are affected globally. He informed the automaker’s security team yesterday, and an investigation into the matter is reportedly ongoing.
It’s important to note that Tesla relies on “pre-approved, good-faith security researchers” to help it find and fix vulnerabilities in order to improve the security of its products. Via the Bugcrowd platform, these hackers can report all sorts of bugs and problems to Tesla and receive a reward of up to $15,000 USD.