What's in a Dame

Hackles up over car trick

It used to be we only feared carjacking.

Now there's a newer high-tech crime causing drivers to tremble: car hacking.

The headline of a Wired.com article on my Facebook feed sure grabbed my attention last week: "Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway -- With Me in It."

Now, take a guess what brand of vehicle I drive. Shiver.

I read Andy Greenberg's first-person account with horror: "Though I hadn't touched the dashboard, the vents in the Jeep Cherokee started blasting cold air at the maximum setting, chilling the sweat on my back through the in-seat climate control system. Next the radio switched to the local hip-hop station and began blaring Skee-lo at full volume. ... Then the windshield wipers turned on, and wiper fluid blurred the glass. ... As the two hackers remotely toyed with the air-conditioning, radio and windshield wipers, I mentally congratulated myself on my courage under pressure. That's when they cut the transmission. Immediately my accelerator stopped working."

Now, take a guess what model of vehicle I drive. Shake.

I just hoped that it was an older version of the Jeep Cherokee that Greenberg was using when he teamed up with Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek -- two tech types who discovered how to hack into the vehicle remotely via the Uconnect communications system (common in vehicles by Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat and Dodge).

But no: "The attack on the entertainment system seems to work on any Chrysler vehicle with Uconnect from late 2013, all of 2014, and early 2015."

It figures. In December, I bought a 2015 version. For safety. Shudder.

I have enough trouble trying to remain in control of my vehicle driving on busy distraction- and rage-filled roads. I don't need someone commandeering my crossover from afar. Suddenly I yearned for my traded 2002 auto. Sure, it had become a complete clunker. But it was less complicated. It could only kill me via malfunction, not others' remote malevolence.

No one has been hacked or harmed. Not yet, according to a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles corporate blog post (blog.fcanorthamerica.com): "To FCA's knowledge, there has not been a single real world incident of an unlawful or unauthorized remote hack into any FCA vehicle." That's a relief.

As is this: There is a software update that can solve the exposed vulnerabilities. It's available at driveuconnect.com/software-update, and one can download the software on a USB drive and install it in her vehicle.

Well, I tried. After buying a USB drive, entering my VIN, downloading the update on to the drive, inserting the drive into the car and downloading as I drove across town to an appointment, I had no idea if it worked. Suspecting it didn't, I called Uconnect for confirmation. Nope, download fail. Only now I know why, after reading the full blog post: "The update, if installed [do-it-yourself], will take 30-45 minutes, and your vehicle needs to be parked throughout the software update/installation process." Oops.

I'll stay stationary and give it another shot (assuming no one hacks me and begins accelerating while I'm updating). In the meantime, I've called my dealership to schedule an appointment if necessary (assuming no one hacks me, cuts off my brakes and sends me off an incline).

Jeepers creepers!

Update: On Friday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recalled 1.4 million U.S. vehicles that could be hacked remotely, saying "No defect has been found. FCA US is conducting this campaign out of an abundance of caution." Affected customers will receive a USB device to upgrade software. Customers can call (800) 853-1403.

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Style on 07/28/2015

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