Researchers at Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs have reportedly stumbled on a fundamental flaw in connected car apps that could allow hackers to steal users' vehicles. The researchers discovered the vulnerability after they noticed an app called CarPlay was being used by some users of Android Auto and Apple iOS devices without their knowledge. Kaspersky Labs said they have contacted the manufacturers about the app problem, and insisted no instances of car theft had been reported using this method.
Researchers at Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs have reportedly stumbled on a fundamental flaw in connected car apps that could allow hackers to steal users' vehicles. Mikhail Kuzin and Victor Chebyshev analysed nine Android apps, each of which had been downloaded between 10,000 and 1m times, and found both the app and debugging code showed unencrypted data, including passwords and the car's vehicle identification number. Kaspersky Labs said they have contacted the manufacturers about the app problem, and insisted no instances of car theft had been reported using this method.