How safe are the new generation vehicles?

Tesla Model S, which has been a dream of many car enthusiasts since its launch, is on the agenda with a case of theft this time. This will make us reconsider cyber security.

It all began on October 21, 2018 in Essex, England, when Anthony Kennedy parked his Tesla Model S electric sport car and went his home. Later that night, two thieves stole the vehicle by hacking the security systems of the parked vehicle. Anthony Kennedy, who couldn't see his car in the morning, immediately checked his security camera records, and what he saw was very annoying; because the vehicle with the claim of high security system was stolen by two thieves in minutes with a small effort. Kennedy, the Tesla Model S owner, got very upset about the situation, and shared his security camera record on YouTube, so did a cyber security debate, which would seriously damage Tesla's reputation as an electric car giant, start.

What happened that night?

The “Passive Entry System” played a major role in the theft of the vehicle.

The thieves approaching the Tesla Model S belonging to Anthony Kennedy broke the Passive Entry System which would normally be activated when the vehicle driver approaches the car with its key. While the car driver was still parking his vehicle, they broke the signal between the key and the vehicle, the thieves opened the vehicle’s door easily by reprocessing this signal. However, unplugging the charging cable took the cold-blooded thieves longer than opening its door. After about two minutes, they managed to detach the charging cable from the vehicle and left the scene with the vehicle. The time of all the theft was recorded as 3 minutes and 6 seconds.

So could this theft have been prevented?

The car couldn’t have been stolen if the Driving Code application had been used.

Although Tesla Motors has started to compensate Anthony Kennedy’s loss, it can be said that his negligence was also a cause for the incident. For example, parking the car on the street with its Passive Entry System on made the car an open target.

In addition, it was noted that the car’s PIN to Drive Code had been off, which was recommended to be activated as an additional safety measure especially when the Passive Entry System is active. Therefore, in this case, if Kennedy had set a PIN code for the vehicle, the thieves would probably not have been able to break the code, because they couldn't steal the vehicle or they could have easily been caught because they spent a lot of time at the scene. If the victim Kennedy had kept the car key in a Faraday pouch that prevents it from sending signals around, the thieves would not have been able to open the vehicle’s door anyway.

Other cyber security problems that may arise in the new generation vehicles

Dr. Sertac Doganay says the objects are digitalized and become vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

According to the statistics, the stealing rates of Tesla Motors are quite low compared to conventional cars. However, when it comes to cyber security, the issue should not be limited to theft only. Technology communicator and academician Sertaç Doğanay makes a series of warnings about this: “When we digitize objects, we make these objects vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The cars we use today have dozens of digital equipment, not just remote lock systems, but music and road assistants. It is possible to say that all of these equipment is open to attacks. For example, in the recent months, a cyber security company called Companest has found that some smart cars have serious security vulnerabilities in their in-car entertainment software. In other words, cyber criminals who exploit these vulnerabilities can infiltrate the system through your vehicle's music player and take control of your personal data and even your car.”