Tesla recruits hackers to boost vehicle security

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2597937/security0/tesla-recruits-hackers-to-boost-vehicle-security.html

By Jaikumar Vijayan
Computerworld
Aug 26, 2014

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors wants security researchers to hack its 
vehicles. In coming months, the Silicon Valley based high-tech carmaker 
will hire up to 30 full-time hackers whose job will be to find and close 
vulnerabilities in the sophisticated firmware that controls its cars.

"Our security team is focused on advancing technology to secure connected 
cars," a company spokesman said via email. The focus is on "setting new 
standards for security and creating new capabilities for connected cars 
that don't currently exist in the automotive industry. The positions are 
full time, and we will have internship opportunities as well."

Tesla's cars are among the most digitally connected vehicles in the 
industry with the battery, transmission, engine systems, climate control, 
door locks and entertainment systems remotely accessible via the Internet.

So the company has a lot at stake in ensuring that the connectivity that 
allows its vehicles to be remotely managed doesn't also provide a gateway 
for malicious hackers.

[...]



--
Evident.io - Continuous Cloud Security for AWS.
Identify and mitigate risks in 5 minutes or less.
Sign up for a free trial @ https://evident.io/