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There is a lot of great technical discussions here of ways to possibly solve the issue. The real problem points back to the lackluster security the auto indust

There is a lot of great technical discussions here of ways to possibly solve the issue. The real problem points back to the lackluster security the auto industry is used to. Only if some sort of accountability or software security testing requirements are enforced this will get fixed. They have to have a mandatory recall if your Audi accelerates quickly by itself (that was in the early 80's i think), but no recall for a possible vulnerability in a jeep where someone can hack into the machine and control the acceleration (and other items). This would be worse with centrally controlled autonomous vehicles, they are always sending and receiving data. Image the firmware on your car not being updated after 2 years and being stuck with the still open vulnerabilities.

asdff 8y ago
IIRC for the Audi 5000s it was because the brake and throttle were too close and your foot or floormat frequently got stuck on top of the throttle. People would shift out of park not realizing this and go flying, not any kind of software or security issue.
- siffland 8y ago
  You are correct it was mechanical, I was just drawing a connection that mandatory recalls exist for issues the auto industry is use to (I.E. mechanical), but nothing exists to track and force updates to software issues (like a CVE database, Perhaps something does exist and I have not heard of it) and have not in the past been the best at software assurance. It is kind of an apples to oranges comparison, but nonetheless it gets the point across.
  - asdff 8y ago
    They don't issue recalls for every mechanical catastrophe, and they don't ignore them for software issues either. When an automaker has a problem that merits a recall, it's because very careful accounting has indicated it is cheaper to roll out the recall than it would be to litigate or settle in court, not from any kind of good faith action. Even Audi would have never had that recall if only just a handful of people were injured or died from the issue.

asdff 8y ago

IIRC for the Audi 5000s it was because the brake and throttle were too close and your foot or floormat frequently got stuck on top of the throttle. People would shift out of park not realizing this and go flying, not any kind of software or security issue.

siffland 8y ago
You are correct it was mechanical, I was just drawing a connection that mandatory recalls exist for issues the auto industry is use to (I.E. mechanical), but nothing exists to track and force updates to software issues (like a CVE database, Perhaps something does exist and I have not heard of it) and have not in the past been the best at software assurance. It is kind of an apples to oranges comparison, but nonetheless it gets the point across.
- asdff 8y ago
  They don't issue recalls for every mechanical catastrophe, and they don't ignore them for software issues either. When an automaker has a problem that merits a recall, it's because very careful accounting has indicated it is cheaper to roll out the recall than it would be to litigate or settle in court, not from any kind of good faith action. Even Audi would have never had that recall if only just a handful of people were injured or died from the issue.