Fear of lawsuits chills car hack research
The Hill:
Regulatory agencies are trying to use copyright law to crack down on dangerous tampering with automobile computers, sparking fears that they will stymie needed cybersecurity research. As Internet-connected cars proliferate on the roads, so too do the opportunities for hackers to uncover and possibly exploit software security flaws — for good and bad.
Concerns about who should and shouldn’t have access to vehicle software came to a head this summer when “white hat hackers” exploited a vulnerability and took control of a Jeep’s steering, brakes and transmission. The hackers demoed the stunt live on the highway, sparking concerns about how researchers go about disclosing vulnerabilities to manufacturers and the public.
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“There have been instances where a researcher had in fact told a manufacturer and the manufacturer had not addressed the vulnerability,” Erik Stallman, general counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology, told The Hill.