successful hacker attack
Hackers penetrate the Tesla Model 3 system – and are allowed to keep the car
Hackers managed to access the system of a Tesla Model 3 (icon image)
© Xinhua / Imago Images
Hackers in the US have gained access to a Tesla Model 3. They were able to repeatedly attack the car successfully. In return, the well-intentioned hackers were given the vehicle. They also won six-figure prize money.
Since electric cars work practically like a computer due to their electronic system, they should be protected as well as possible against hacker attacks. Otherwise, they allow strangers to manipulate and even steal them. That’s exactly what hackers have now done: they penetrated deep into the system of a Tesla Model 3 during the “Pwn2Own” hacking competition.
During the three-day event, the hacker group dubbed “Synacktiv” successfully carried out two attacks on the car. First they took on the gateway of a Tesla Model 3, which controls the internal communication of the vehicle systems. The attack was dubbed “TOCTOU,” an acronym for “time-of-check to time-of-use.” This stands for a category of possible software vulnerabilities in which security measures are overturned. On the second day, “Synacktiv” attacked the car’s infotainment system. The hacker group then wrote on Twitter that the team could have taken control of the car.
For the two hacker attacks, the attackers creamed off the Model 3 and prize money of 350,000 US dollars. Overall, the team even won 530,000 US dollars. In addition to successfully accessing the Tesla vehicle’s system, “Synacktiv” also managed attacks on Windows Microsoft 11, Ubuntu Desktop and the Apple macOS operating system. More details about the hacks undertaken were not disclosed in order not to reveal the details of the discovered vulnerabilities to the public.
Not the first hacker attacks Tesla systems
” vendor-id=”5e71760b69966540e4554f01″ vendor-name=”Twitter”/> It’s not the first time hackers have managed to break into a Tesla’s system. In 2019, two programmers at “Pwn2Own” had already managed to place their message on the Model 3’s infotainment system within a short time. They were also allowed to keep the car afterwards and received prize money of 35,000 US dollars. An Austrian security expert has already managed to unlock a Tesla and just drive away. The German IT expert David Colombo was also able to penetrate the system of several Teslas in different countries via a security hole in a third-party Tesla software. For example, he had access to the camera system, the door locks, the windows and the horn. Sources: ZDI, TwitterAuto Motor and Sports