[ISN] 'Car Whisperer' Puts Hackers in the Driver's Seat

[InfoSec News]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,122077,00.asp

Robert McMillan
IDG News Service
August 03, 2005

If you happen to hear a disembodied computer voice tell you to "drive
carefully" next time you're behind the wheel, you've probably met the
Car Whisperer.
  
Released late last week at the What the Hack computer security
conference in Liempde, Netherlands, Car Whisperer is software that
tricks the hands-free Bluetooth systems installed in some cars into
connecting with a Linux computer.

Car Whisperer was developed by a group of European wireless security
experts, called the Trifinite Group, as a way of illustrating the
shortcomings of some Bluetooth systems, said Martin Herfurt, an
independent security consultant based in Salzburg, Austria, and a
founder of Trifinite.


Simple Security?

The software takes advantage of the fact that many of these hands-free
systems require only a very simple four-digit security key--often a
number such as 1234 or 0000--in order to grant a device access to the
system. Many car manufacturers use the same code for all their
Bluetooth systems, making it easy for Car Whisperer to send and
receive audio from the car.

Using a special directional antenna that allowed him to extend the
normally short range of his Bluetooth connections to about a mile,
Herfurt was able to listen and send audio to about 10 cars over a
one-hour period recently.

"I could hear voices from cars passing by," he said. "If I had been
following the car, I would have been able to eavesdrop for a longer
time."


Blame the Manufacturers

Though some Bluetooth users may be shocked to learn that everything
they say during their next car ride could be overheard, blame for the
problem lies squarely with the Bluetooth system manufacturers, not
with Bluetooth itself, Herfut said. "Manufacturers are doing something
wrong with this. Bluetooth is a very good thing, once everything is
correct."

The solution is for makers of the Bluetooth in-car systems to stop
using only one security key for all their units, but that would
probably cost them money, he said.


What's the Harm?

Trifinite is currently studying whether unauthorized Bluetooth
intruders could do anything more serious than listen in or offer
driving tips. Herfut said it's not possible for an attacker to do
something really serious such as disabling airbags or brakes, but he
believes there may be other implications to his group's hack.

It's possible, for example, that an attacker could access a telephone
address book once he has connected with the Bluetooth system, but
Trifinite will have to conduct more research before it can say for
sure whether this could happen, he said.

The best way to avoid being "Car Whispered" is to simply connect the
in-car system to a Bluetooth phone, because only one such device can
be connected at a time, Herfurt said.

The Car Whisperer software, which includes an audio clip that says,
"Hello there. This is the Trifinite Car Whisperer. Drive carefully,"  
can be found at Trifinite's Web site.