Experts say Satellite Navigation Systems can be hacked and steer you the wrong way

Hackers may be moving on to more interesting subjects as security experts report that in car satellite navigation systems can be easily hijacked remotely giving drivers false directions and getting them just plain lost.

Speaking at major security conference in Las Vegas, Andrea Barisani and Daniele Bianco demonstrated live how simple electronics available to anyone can intercept accurate GPS data and replace it with false instructions getting a reliant driver lost, or worse.

And although most satnav devices plan routes pre-stored maps from the satellites, these routes are changed and updated via FM radio due to road conditions, traffic accidents and road closures. So, planting faulty details based on these conditions into the information stream can cause the systems like the Radio Data System to plot new – albeit unnecessary – routes based on the false information.

Hackers can intercept the FM signal and replace it with relative ease, say Barisani and Bianco. “The problem is people implicitly trust these things,” Barisani said of in-car navigation systems.

“You worry about viruses in your computer at home but not in your car. This is an open door to software running your car.”

Source: AFP via Yahoo