Smart gadgets from guns to cars ripe for hacking

SAN FRANCISCO: Hackers are not just after your computer: connected devices from cars to home security systems to sniper rifles are now targets for actors looking to steal or cause mischief.
The rapid growth in the "Internet of Things" has opened up new opportunities for cyber attacks and new markets for cyber defenders.
This is among the hot topics at a Black Hat computer security conference that kicks off in Las Vegas on Sunday and an infamous Def Con hacker gathering that follows.
Early glimpses have been provided of scheduled presentations about how to commandeer control of some Chrysler Fiat vehicles or accurately retarget self-aiming sniper rifles.
"The Internet of Things is definitely one of the big new frontiers," said Christopher Kruegel, co-founder of cyber security firm Lastline and a professor of computer science at a state university in Southern California.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles issued a safety recall for 1.4 million US cars and trucks in July after hackers demonstrated that they could take control their systems while they are in operation.
The recall came after cybersecurity experts Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek of the firm IOActive Labs remotely commandeered a Jeep Cherokee, made by Chrysler, to demonstrate the vulnerability of the vehicles´ electronic systems.
As reported in Wired magazine and elsewhere, working from laptop computers at home, the two men were able to enter the Jeep´s electronics via its online entertainment system, changing its speed and braking capability and manipulating the radio and windshield wipers.
After the report, Chrysler issued a free software patch for vulnerable vehicles even while saying it had no first-hand knowledge of hacking incidents.
Miller and Valasek are to reveal more about their Jeep hack at Black Hat. "The ambiguous nature of automotive security leads to narratives that are polar opposites: either we´re all going to die or our cars are perfectly safe," read a description a scheduled briefing by the researchers.
"In this talk, we will show the reality of car hacking by demonstrating exactly how a remote attack works against an unaltered, factory vehicle."
Intel security vice president Raj Samani told AFP of an earlier demonstration of using hacks to take control of accelerators of cars, one of which was crashed into a wall.