Latest news with #PCAutomotive
The Drive
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Watch Hackers Terrorize a Nissan Leaf, Including Its Steering, Over the Web
Connected cars are great, as they let you communicate with other systems and devices via the internet, but connectivity opens the door to hacking. As it turns out, hacking a Nissan Leaf isn't nearly as difficult as it might sound if you've got the right tools and the right knowledge. Researchers from Budapest-based PCAutomotive traveled to Black Hat Asia 2025 to demonstrate how they managed to hack into a 2020 Nissan Leaf. Luckily, they had good intentions—they simply wanted to show that it could be done. Someone with less -than-good intentions could have caused a great deal of damage with the same tools. Most of the parts used to hack into the car were sourced from eBay or a junkyard. The first part of the project involved building a working test bench around a Leaf touchscreen and the EV's digital instrument cluster. They then bypassed the anti-theft safeguards by implementing a Python script, which is a programming language, and hacked into the system. The steps taken to break in were detailed in a presentation. They look complicated if you don't know what you're dealing with and have no programming experience, but someone with a great deal of programming experience shouldn't find the process terribly daunting. When everything was set up, it was time to launch an attack. One of the researchers connected to the Leaf remotely via a laptop while two others were riding in it. The first step was pretty straight-forward: The man with the laptop tracked the Leaf's movements via GPS. He then recorded the conversation the passengers were having inside the car, downloaded it to his laptop, and played it in the car via the speakers. Next, things got creepier. Using the same laptop, the researcher sounded the horn, folded the door mirrors, turned on the wipers, and even yanked the steering wheel. He was able to perform these tasks even when the car was moving. The team identified a list of 10 vulnerabilities that allowed it to access the Leaf's infotainment system and notified Nissan. The company hasn't responded to the video as of this writing, however. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
'People buying fake parts online are risking lives'
Motorists who buy fake vehicle parts online are putting their lives at risk, a mechanic has Jones, who owns PC Automotive in Lincoln, said he was being asked "on a weekly basis" to fit parts that have been bought cheaply on the internet and claimed many of those were either faulty or not safety tested."The thing that made me wince was fake airbags," he said. "You can imagine an explosive device five inches from your face. If that goes off, it doesn't bear thinking about."The Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which launched a campaign highlighting the dangers of counterfeit vehicle parts, said the most common fakes included airbags, brake pads, wheels and car batteries. Mr Jones added: "You're doing 70mph at certain points with a faulty component on it, it's only going to go one way."They are taking their lives in their hands."The mechanic, who has been in the job for 35 years, said he refuses to fit parts that people have bought themselves without the usual guarantees."It's what's keeping you alive when you're on the motorway."It's not about garages making money. We don't want someone behind us when we've got the kids in the back seat, whose got a faulty car or one that's been bodged up." Wary of price As part of a campaign called Fake Always Breaks, IPO said it had carried out a survey that found one in six motorists who responded said they had bought a counterfeit part in the previous 12 Rees, IPO deputy director of enforcement, said: "If you see something at a significantly cheaper price, that's a reason to be wary. "It's the old adage; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."He said that the sale of counterfeit goods was often linked to organised crime and wider criminal added: "Illicit goods are not subject to safety tests, and are likely to be made using vastly inferior materials."This puts them at increased risk of failure, with potentially devastating results." However, it is not just mechanics who have experienced the companies have seen their products appear as counterfeits and sold online.A firm that manufactures motorcycle parts and accessories in Alford, Lincolnshire, said copies of its products regularly appear on cheap Rack, who is a director of Drury Precision Engineering, said within six months of a new product being launched the company expects to see fake versions being sold on the internet."It's a massive problem," he said."It's quite demoralising when all of your ideas are just copied and sold off as someone else's."It's mind-blowing when you see how many fake products there are online."He said the company spends up to £50,000 a year protecting its trademarks and intellectual has issued new guidance on how to spot and avoid fake vehicle parts, and what to look out for when buying online. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
