"But two Democratic senators, Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have introduced a bill that would force the industry to seal off critical computers and add technology to stop hackers in real time."<p>Why do governments feel the need to dictate the little details? Instead of forcing all car manufacturers to secure cars in the exact same way how about just holding them liable for the consequences if a car is hacked? Car makers can then decide how best to secure the car which would lead to a more diverse and hopefully innovative security measures.
That shouldn't be too hard. Disconnect all radios from management computers with an airgap. And if that goes at the cost of some functionality then so be it but the downsides of interconnected systems are heavier than the upsides.<p>At a minimum stick an 'airgap' switch in the dash somewhere and default it to 'on', or label it 'insecure' when off so the users know the risks.
This is the easiest problem in the world to fix going forward... The entertainment system (usually the entry point for this kind of stuff) has no business being connected to any core systems (steering, throttle, brakes, ignition). Just keep the core systems separate, without any connectivity to ANYTHING that can be accessed remotely.<p>Boom. problem solved.
My ideal car has no power-anything: no power windows, door locks, brakes or steering. Accessory-wise, just an AM/FM radio with a 1/8" AUX jack, a 12V outlet and some cup holders. 5 or 6 speed manual transmission, unless it's electric.
But if these cars can be "commandeered", they (i.e. my movements) could also easily be tracked by the companies themselves (with the information then sold to "trusted partners"). For some reason, that frightens me more.
Can't we just stop using the (admittedly convenient) CAN bus for this sort of communication? It was never designed for what people are using it for these days.
This title should only be "news" early on in the design stage. Were they not trying to prevent hackers from commandeering cars before they released them?<p>Also as others have said, airgap the systems.