A group of Chinese hackers from a security lab were able to connect to Tesla's Model S car from 12 miles, controlling the car's wheels and lights. As a response, the car manufacturer rolled up a software update to avoid such incident.
Keen Security Lab said they have discovered the Model S security weaknesses and able to remotely control the car while it is on Parking and Driving mode after some months of research. The team of hackers from the lab used an unmodified car running on Tesla's latest firmware on demonstrating the attack.
The Keen Security Lab then reported the vulnerabilities found on the car's security to Tesla, which the company had also confirmed. The group said that they appreciated how the Tesla Security Team, headed by Chris Evans, responded to their report and coordinated with the car manufacturer on fixing the problem ensuring the Tesla users' safety.
Following the hack of the Tesla's Model S car, the Keen Security Lab reminded all the Tesla car owners to update the car's firmware to the latest version to make sure that all issues are fixed and avoid potential hacking, as stated on Keen Security Lab's website.
During the demonstration, the hacker was able to use the car's mapping search function to look for the nearest charging point. The team took over the instrument cluster screens as well as the infotainment and remotely unlocks the doors.
Aside from that, they were able to fold a side mirror, open the trunk and even activate the breaks while the car is moving. Other parts that were controlled during the demonstration are the sun roof, power seats and signal lamps.
In a statement issued by Tesla to The Verge, the car manufacturer said that they were able to deploy and OTA software update (v7.1, 2.36.31) to address the security issues 10 days after they received the report. They explained that the car is only vulnerable to attack when once the car's web browser is used while the car is physically connected to a malicious Wi-Fi hotspot.
