The other drivers on the highway didn't consent to be part of this dangerous car-hacking experiment. (neither did bikers, pedestrians, and car-drivers on any other roads they've done this type of experiment on)
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/ The article talks about an experiment on a highway by St. Louis, but one of the researchers (Vlasek) is based a few blocks from CMU in Oakland. At a CMU presentation I attended, Vlasek said he tests a vehicle on the streets around here. Now I want to know more about his Pittsburgh tests, and if they're putting me and others in danger.
lori
2015-07-22 08:32:26
I respect your concern (and have my own concerns about autonomous cars and safety, BTW). I think that if you poke around you'll find a way to get in touch with Vlasek to discuss. But I think you'll find that the danger from these experiments is much less than you'd encounter from driving, say, Saturday night.
jonawebb
2015-07-22 09:07:19
^that still doesn't make this right. You could bring this to CMU's compliance/ethics office if you really have concerns. There is probably plenty of red-tape to be completed before doing such stunts.
marko82
2015-07-22 12:02:56
If you look up 'vlasek pittsburgh automotive' you'll see a bio that includes "I'm quite interested in reverse engineering and exploit development, along with mountain biking".
http://chris.illmatics.com/about.html
He's a biker! What could possibly go wrong?
ahlir
2015-07-23 13:02:08
well, mountain biker.
jonawebb
2015-07-23 13:08:03
Nice that this guy is a good guy and doing the right thing. Creating a patch with the problematic car so someone can't take a car over while on the road. Great job by a local Pittsburgh'er.
gg
2015-07-24 12:56:32
If these are the guys I'm thinking of, they'll be presenting at DEF CON in a couple of weeks. Their full presentation should be available after the conference ends. Should be interesting, especially since so many manufacturers say their cars are designed with critical systems isolated from the infotainment system....usually with a second CAN bus. Clearly not the case here :(
mattjackets
2015-07-24 16:02:57
