Hackers take control of car in St. Louis in 'Wired' article on security flaws

Portrait of mathematician Charlie Miller using his iPhone taken Thursday, June 14, 2012, at his home office in Wildwood. Miller is a former computer espionage specialist at the NSA and a superstar in a field that is rarely taught at universities: hacking. He apparently was the first to exploit the iPhone, and he has been featured in national publications. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com

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In a modern, motorized take on the old "don't touch that dial" science fiction, two hackers, one from STL, are getting attention in Wired magazine.



Seems hacker-researchers Charlie Miller of Ladue and Chris Valasek of Pittsburgh can take control of your vehicle — while you're driving it.

In an article posted Tuesday, Miller and Valasek demonstrate that they can take over the computer in the car of Wired reporter Andy Greenberg, as Greenberg drove on Interstate 64 in St. Louis city. The author explains:

"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 ...

 I spun the control knob left and hit the power button, to no avail. Then the windshield wipers turned on, and wiper fluid blurred the glass."

Eventually they showed they could meddle with his transmission and brakes.
The article notes that Miller and Valasek plan to publish their adventures on the Internet in time for the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas on Aug. 1-6. The duo is set to present "Remote Exploitation of an Unaltered Passenger Vehicle" on Aug. 5.

On the Black Hat website, Miller is described as "a security engineer at Twitter, a hacker, and a gentleman."

Miller, 42, was reared in the Affton area and graduated from Lindbergh High School in 1991. He attended Truman State University and majored in mathematics. He also has a doctorate degree from the University of Notre Dame.

After getting his degree from Notre Dame, Miller has worked for the NSA, making and breaking codes for the government. He later learned how to take control of computers from remote locations.
Miller is married to Andrea Miller, whom he met at Truman State. She is an adjunct sociology professor at Webster University.