Tesla Cars May Be Unlocked And Hacked Using Bluetooth Devices, Researchers Find
No tech is completely foolproof, unless it keeps evolving and adjusting to new challenges in its way. Now, a security company claims that Tesla vehicles may be unlocked using a simple and cheap hack.
According to UK-based NCC Group, there are security flaws in Tesla's Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), a technology used by many car companies that allows owners to operate the vehicle without the use of a physical key based on proximity.
The company claims that along with vehicles, laptops, smart locks, and other devices that use BLE may be vulnerable. "Our research shows that systems that people rely on to guard their cars, homes and private data are using Bluetooth proximity authentication mechanisms that can be easily broken with cheap off-the-shelf hardware," NCC said in a press release on Monday.
How NCC hacked into a Tesla
NCC was essentially able to unlock and operate a Tesla car even when the iPhone controlling it was outside of BLE range, Business Insider reported. According to the company, Tesla's Model Y vehicles are also vulnerable to the attack.
Using "relaying devices," NCC tricked a 2020 Tesla Model 3 into thinking that its owner device was nearby when it really was about 25 metres away.?
Also read:?Musk Shifts Focus To Indonesia After Indian Ministers Fail To Tempt Him To Make Teslas In India
Tesla has been notified of the vulnerability by NCC and the company claims to be well are of the issue. According to NCC's Sultan Qasim, "what makes this powerful is not that we can convince a Bluetooth device that we are near it - even from hundreds of miles away -but that we can do it even when the vendor has taken defensive mitigations."
Just last week, Tesla halted all its potential plans for India over a tariff spat with the government. While Indian government wants Tesla to manufacture and sell in India, Tesla first wants to gauge market demand in India by importing foreign made vehicles.
Also read:?Tesla Puts All India Plans On Hold As Modi Govt Refuses Any Tariff Relaxations
What do you think about Teslas being hacked so easily? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.?
References
Levin, T. (2022, May 17). Security company says Teslas can be unlocked and driven using a simple, inexpensive hack. Business Insider.?
