Taking cue from the recent security breach that hit a massive number of Jeep cars, Fiat Chrysler has responded proactively to a bug threa by recalling close to 7,810 SUVs from the United States, after a glitch was discovered in the security system that gave attackers the ability to remotely control a vehicle.
The models that have been recalled include the variants of the 2015 Jeep Renegade SUV models. The good news here is that this model is still lying at dealers side, and is likely going to be patched before it rolls out on to the streets.
The security bug was first noticed in the system when a team of researchers brought the issue into public domain in July. The cars Uconnect control system gave a green pass to the attackers who wished to control the car remotely. The attackers could even switch off the car engine’s without the knowledge of the driver.
Fearing the consequences the company has decided to recall 1.4 million vehicles, suspected to be affected with the bug.
In a statement, Fiat Chrysler said
The campaign — which involves radios that differ from those implicated in another, similar recall – is designed to protect connected vehicles from remote manipulation. If unauthorized, such interference constitutes a criminal act.
The Company is unaware of any injuries related to software exploitation, nor is it aware of any related complaints, warranty claims or accidents – independent of the media demonstration.
The customers can check the status of their vehicle , if its part of the recall models. Those vehicles that are found to be having this bug can be debugged from September 5 through a software or with the help of a technician, who will update the system at no extra charge.
The company is also giving away a USB device to the customers so that they may update the system software with ease. But considering the limited security provided by a USB device, industry experts feel it’s easy to hack. With the USB device an attacker can install a malware into the disk, and control the system. Once installed the malware will be harder to track until it’s too late for both the driver and the automaker.
