Haven’t really written or posted much lately, other things on my mind I guess. One of them been tomorrow which I am nervous about and feeling under prepared for it all. Feeling nervous is normal but i just keep getting that feeling where at the end of it all I’ll get the reassess a few things and try again at a later stage reply like so many other times before. Probably overthinking this one.
Went and played with my bike in the garage to take my mind of everything, I had to fix one of the brackets that held up the upper cowl since it snapped off. Two pieces of steel welded on and measured to the right specs and it is like brand new, even with a touch of black spray paint. Will be good when my new fairings are finally ready, still waiting on Simon to give me a range of sample greens.
Alot of stupid stories today about ‘hackers gaining access to vehicle ECUs to kill brakes, engines etc. The “hackers” did nothing scary whatsoever. Every page I’ve seen this on, including Gizmodo, Slashdot, HardOCP, PC World, and even Fox News and CNN has the story completely wrong (because the real story is boring.)
The researchers connected an OBD-II interface to the car, and in turn connected it to a laptop, which streamed the connection wirelessly. They were able to use the OBD-II system (on a Chevrolet Impala) to override the car’s systems. This should be a shock, because the OBD-II system is designed to function like that.
Unlike what every major news outlet is reporting, the “researchers” needed physical access to the car, and they needed to leave large amounts of powered gear IN THE CAR in order to be able to control it. Hardely a “discreet hack.”
The crux of it? Read this quote from the actual study:
“In this paper we intentionally and explicitly skirt the question of a “threat model.” Instead, we focus primarily on what an attacker could do to a car if she was able to maliciously communicate on the car’s internal network. That said, this does beg the question of how she might be able to gain such access.”
That’s right, they intentionally “skirt the question” of how the hell anyone could possibly do this without first being in the car. So, obviously, every news network is running the story as if they have done exactly that, because it’s more exciting. Who cares that it’s totally untrue and misleading. Sorry to disappoint.
World cup 2010 is just around the corner. Looking forward to bringing out the socceroos top I have. Happy that the bombers beat the Saints by 12 points, haven’t really payed much attention to AFL lately and cant be bothered doing my tips anymore.
