Cybersecurity company NCC Group has said Tesla is among the most vulnerable cars to hacking because of its Bluetooth.
The group said the cars could be unlocked and controlled remotely by hackers who could exploit a vulnerability in the Bluetooth system.
Tesla cars hacked and the reason is due to Bluetooth
"This proves that any product that relies on a trusted connection is vulnerable to attack even from the other side of the world," NCC said in a statement.
BLE stands for Bluetooth Low Energy, a technology used in cars and Bluetooth locks that will automatically unlock or unlock when an authorized device is nearby.
While it's a convenient feature, it's not immune to attacks, which was the point of NCC's experience.
- The hack was performed on a 2021 Tesla Model Y, but NCC Group maintains that any lock that uses BLE technology, including residential smart locks, can be opened in the same way.
- This basically means that with the right technology in the wrong hands, the car or the house can be taken over.
- The group also stated that the vulnerability in BLE locks is not traditional and will not be fixed with software updates.
In addition, the added BLE-based authentication was not originally designed for use in locking mechanisms, the report notes.
Regarding BLE authentication, the NCC added: "In fact, the systems people rely on to protect their cars, homes, and private data use proximity authentication mechanisms that can be easily hacked with inexpensive hardware."
"This research demonstrates the danger of technologies being used for reasons other than their intended purpose, particularly when it comes to security issues."