From Engadget:
We hate to break it to you, but that oh-so-reliable GPS system that you simply obey each day could eventually lead you down a dark, perilous path. No, we’re not referring to the blind faith drivers who throw caution common sense to the wind and drive directly into sandpiles and bodies of water, but a new discovery has found that the unencrypted data that’s beamed to drivers everyday via RDS-TMC navigation systems could be undermined with relative ease. Andrea Barisani, chief security engineer with Italian consultancy Inverse Path, has claimed that the wireless signals could not only be intercepted, but incorrect directions could actually be used to lead motorists into a trap, direct traveling competitors away from a sales presentation, or create a massive gridlock by instructing the weary working crowd to all take the same “detour” home. It was noted that some firms are already looking into more secure methods of delivering such critical information, and considering the lessons we’ve already learned about GPS-addicted drivers, the updates can’t come soon enough.
We ran a piece on Liquidmatrix almost a year ago about hackers stealing David Beckham’s BMW with a laptop and some ingenuity. Funny enough this was driven (pun intended) by an article on Engadget. The more we integrated wireless technology into products to add convenience we open a new attack surface. I just wonder how long it will be until someone hacks the Nike iPod sneakers.
[tags]Hackers, GPS Hacks, Nike, iPod[/tags]