The Other Mobile Hacking

The buzz around smartphone and tablet app hacking has started to increase even more since the beginning of the year. But also making some waves in recent weeks has been the application of existing technology to allow vehicles to communicate. Automobile companies have been in the news lately concerning the Vehicle-To-Vehicle (V2V) communication system. This tech basically allows cars to communicate signals to each other over a dedicated wireless infrastructure (the implementation of which is actually being funded).

Among my concerns was the idea that such an infrastructure might attract the curious-minded. Certainly there would be concerns over privacy (tracking?), spoofed signals, hijacked systems, and other shenanigans. If manufacturers embrace this on a wide-scale (perhaps if it becomes a safety requirement), and if it is implemented while making security a priority, the result could be a welcome addition to the safety capabilities of modern vehicles. On the other hand, if security is not properly taken into account, the result could be yet another potential target for attack and exploitation. Either way, for now, we can only speculate on what future automobile hacking may look like. After all, it’s impossible to know how secure it is until the technology is ready, in the field, and smart people start poking at it.