Chinese Hackers Successfully Take Control of Tesla Model S From 12 Miles Away

September 20, 2016

Chinese hackers recently proved that no Tesla car is safe from hacking after they successfully took control of one Model S from 12 miles away.

The Chinese hacking research group, Keen Security Lab, posted a video to their YouTube channel demonstrating their progress in car hacking research of Tesla Motors.

Keen Security Lab, a group of white-hat hackers who expose vulnerabilities to help companies improve their products, discovered multiple weaknesses in the Tesla Model S. Elon Musk may want to pay attention to this.

The hackers successfully implemented remote control with no physical contact on a white Tesla Model S in both parking and driving mode as shown in the video. The team was able to gain control of the vehicle from 12 miles away and added that the unmodified car was equipped with the latest firmware.

The researchers responsibly disclosed the product security vulnerabilities and reported the technical details to the Tesla Product Security Team who reportedly confirmed the findings. The researchers were able to remotely unlock the cars without a key fob, adjust the seat, turn on the windshield wipers and activate the car’s brakes.

The company is believed to be taking actions to address the security issues to ensure the safety of Tesla drivers and others on the road.

Keen Security Lab added:

“As far as we know, this is the first case of remote attack which compromises CAN Bus to achieve remote controls on Tesla cars. We have verified the attack vector on multiple varieties of Tesla Model S. It is reasonable to assume that other Tesla models are affected.

“Keen Security Lab would like to send out this reminder to all Tesla car owners:

PLEASE DO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE OF YOUR TESLA CAR TO THE LATEST VERSION TO ENSURE THAT THE ISSUES ARE FIXED AND AVOID POTENTIAL DRIVING SAFETY RISKS.”

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