On Tuesday , federal authorities announced that several members of the Tijuana - ground Hooligans Motorcycle Club had been indictedfor some slip $ 4.5 million Charles Frederick Worth of Jeepsin San Diego County . How ’d they do it ? Stolen keys ? dash and grab mathematical operation ? Nah , according to police force , these bikers just gain access to a strong key database and then hacked the vehicles ’ onboard computers so that they could drive back to Mexico undetected .
Except the Hooligans finally were detected by a home security camera , hence the indictment . But that was after they allegedly stole an estimated 150 Jeep Wranglers using methodsseemingly pulled fromGone in 60 Seconds .
Based on the findings of a three - yr - farseeing police investigating dubbed “ Operation Last Ride , ” the thieves begin by police San Diego neighbourhood and recording fomite designation number ( VINs ) visible through target fomite ’ windscreen . This enable them to fetch cardinal duplication codes from a secure on-line database check the proper cardinal pattern . It ’s unclear if the bikers hacked the database or had a man on the inside , but self-confidence say that the key code queries were connected to a Jeep franchise in Cabo San Lucas .
After the thief shorten the duplicate cay , the real fun began . Here ’s the San Diego Union Tribune’saccount of the thievery themselves :
The Jeep Wrangler has two latches on the outside of its cap , which allows accession to the engine . The thieves exploited that unique intention , popping the hood and quickly shorten the wires for the horn and the front flashing Light . They would unlock the threshold with the duplicate headstone , put the key into the firing and then employ a hand-held computer fundamental programmer to connect to the car ’s electronic computer .
In other Holy Writ , the Hooligans allegedly hacked into the cars ’ computers . The paper proceed :
Using the second codification obtained from the database , the thieves would programme the chip in the duplicate paint , allow them to work the gondola .
The actual theft take only a few minutes .
Once steal , the Hooligans return the Jeeps to Mexico where they either sell them as complete vehicles or chopped them up for parts , according to constabulary . Again , dominance think the biker ring had been doing this for at least three years before they were pick up . And so far , only three out of the nine men indict have been arrest . Seven of the nine are United States citizen .
Now , we can all agree that law-breaking is high-risk , and getting your car stolen suction . However , this is some DEFCON - level hacking diddley , the kind of affair that exposes literal flaws in self-propelled surety . Just a couple years ago , a pair of hack won a standing standing ovation at the Black Hat security group discussion in Las Vegas ( as well as outside medium attending ) after theyfigured out how to remotely gain control of a Jeep Grand Cherokee . Chryslerlater recalled1.4 million of the SUVs due to the hack scourge .
It ’s unclear how Jeep or its parent companies plan to deal with the manifest security vulnerability in these Wranglers . Now that the Hooligans ’ method acting have been exposed , one would hope that they ’d review the security of that online database and possibly supply a software update to the car themselves . We ’ve reached out to the party to learn more info on what chance next and will update this post if we hear back .
In the meantime , do n’t underestimate the capabilities of Tijuana - based biker - slash - cyberpunk gangs . They ’re unpredictable as hell .
Update 12:45pm EST – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sent us the following program line :
FCA US is committed to the safety and surety of our vehicles , including cybersecurity . We continue to take proactive footprint to speak cyber risks including improved intersection security system techniques and active participation in the Auto - ISAC as a secure chopine to share and analyze intelligence across the industry .
As the probe is ongoing , FCA US has no further comment .
[ San Diego Union Tribune ]
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