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What's interesting is that with such system in place, you could easily kill people. For example, disable the car when you're in a deserted region that hardly se

What's interesting is that with such system in place, you could easily kill people. For example, disable the car when you're in a deserted region that hardly sees a traveler every 2 weeks. And while the example is kind of unlikely, the possibility of that happening is frightening. Especially that the protocol behind is MOST LIKELY un-authenticated and could probabaly be spoofed easily by expert researchers.

tdb7893 9y ago
If the place is that infrequently traveled they could just shoot you with a gun. Even if they disabled my car somewhere where there wasn't cell service and literally no one drives my family would still send people out to look for me before I starved to death. A car on the side of a road is pretty easy to find so it's unlikely you would actually die from something like that
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  > If the place is that infrequently traveled they could just shoot you with a gun. Not from the comfort of their couch in Moscow.
  - 5ilv3r 9y ago
    Isn't the UN considering that issue right now?
averagewall 9y ago
Car break down on their own too. If you're gambling with your life driving in such a place without taking precautions, you're already in greater danger anyway. Where I'm from, engine reliability isn't part of vehicle safety inspections.
- quuquuquu 9y ago
  If this sales rep disabled my car with his smartphone while i was in Badwater CA, I would literally die. This functionality should not exist.
  - pavel_lishin 9y ago
    I realize this is going to sound like victim-blaming, but why are you driving through Badwater without enough supplies to survive a blown tire or an engine breakdown?
    - s0rce 9y ago
      He probably has the supplies to fix a blown tire, engine breakdown - probably not. If you have some water you can probably wait in the shade from your car until nightfall and then head out to find help and hope you don't die. If your car is in decent working order then its probably a small risk of breakdown. I wouldn't want to have my car remotely disabled while driving through the desert during the summer. Hopefully most of the remote places still lack cell service and this, I assume, would prevent being remotely disabled.
      - quuquuquu 9y ago
        Awesome reply, I will reply to both of you in one comment :) Sure, I usually carry water and basic stuff with me in the car, whether it is around the corner from home or a 600 mile roadtrip. But of course, the problem here is the arbitrariness of the power the sales rep wields. Whether you actually paid them or not, they can push a button, the button can accidentally be pressed, it can be hacked etc etc. So, this technology opens up a whole new threat vector/attack surface that I really can't control. I can keep my car in good mechanical order and drive defensively, but there's not much I can do about electronic attacks. I think badwater does have cell service since it is so flat and touristy ;)
        aneutron 9y ago
Balgair 9y ago
As far as I know, Teslas have a similar issue like this too. They won't start if you don't have cell service as it cannot verify you are the driver of the car via the app on the phone. If you have the fob, you are fine, but it's another failure point that was unconsidered even a few years ago. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/01/16/tesla-driver-stranded-desert-smartphone-app-failure/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/01/16/tesla-drive...
- raverbashing 9y ago
  "failure point" Unlocking with the phone is a convenience, nothing but that. I wouldn't want to put battery issues + anything that could go wrong with a phone + anything that could go wrong with a cell network between me and my car

tdb7893 9y ago

If the place is that infrequently traveled they could just shoot you with a gun. Even if they disabled my car somewhere where there wasn't cell service and literally no one drives my family would still send people out to look for me before I starved to death. A car on the side of a road is pretty easy to find so it's unlikely you would actually die from something like that

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
pavel_lishin 9y ago
> If the place is that infrequently traveled they could just shoot you with a gun. Not from the comfort of their couch in Moscow.
- 5ilv3r 9y ago
  Isn't the UN considering that issue right now?

averagewall 9y ago

Car break down on their own too. If you're gambling with your life driving in such a place without taking precautions, you're already in greater danger anyway. Where I'm from, engine reliability isn't part of vehicle safety inspections.

quuquuquu 9y ago
If this sales rep disabled my car with his smartphone while i was in Badwater CA, I would literally die. This functionality should not exist.
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  I realize this is going to sound like victim-blaming, but why are you driving through Badwater without enough supplies to survive a blown tire or an engine breakdown?
  - s0rce 9y ago
    He probably has the supplies to fix a blown tire, engine breakdown - probably not. If you have some water you can probably wait in the shade from your car until nightfall and then head out to find help and hope you don't die. If your car is in decent working order then its probably a small risk of breakdown. I wouldn't want to have my car remotely disabled while driving through the desert during the summer. Hopefully most of the remote places still lack cell service and this, I assume, would prevent being remotely disabled.
    - quuquuquu 9y ago
      Awesome reply, I will reply to both of you in one comment :) Sure, I usually carry water and basic stuff with me in the car, whether it is around the corner from home or a 600 mile roadtrip. But of course, the problem here is the arbitrariness of the power the sales rep wields. Whether you actually paid them or not, they can push a button, the button can accidentally be pressed, it can be hacked etc etc. So, this technology opens up a whole new threat vector/attack surface that I really can't control. I can keep my car in good mechanical order and drive defensively, but there's not much I can do about electronic attacks. I think badwater does have cell service since it is so flat and touristy ;)
      - aneutron 9y ago

Balgair 9y ago

As far as I know, Teslas have a similar issue like this too. They won't start if you don't have cell service as it cannot verify you are the driver of the car via the app on the phone. If you have the fob, you are fine, but it's another failure point that was unconsidered even a few years ago. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/01/16/tesla-driver-stranded-desert-smartphone-app-failure/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/01/16/tesla-drive...

raverbashing 9y ago
"failure point" Unlocking with the phone is a convenience, nothing but that. I wouldn't want to put battery issues + anything that could go wrong with a phone + anything that could go wrong with a cell network between me and my car