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Can DARPA hack into a Chevy Impala through OnStar?

An ex-video game wizard named Dan Kaufman tracked a circuitous route to becoming the head of the Software Innovation Division at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA normally makes these pages because of its work with autonomous vehicles and automobile technology that overlaps with military applications, but for the past five years Kaufman and his multiple research teams have been working on creating unhackable software code that could be used in military drones. Part of that work has involved hacking into just about everything else, and as a segment on 60 Minutes reveals, that includes cars. The masterminds discovered a way to hack into OnStar, the General Motors telematics system. After figuring out how to hook into OnStar's emergency communication system, they overwhelmed it with data. While the computer was busy trying to manage the overrun of data, the research team inserted code that took control of the sedan's other computers, giving it control. So while reporter Leslie Stahl tooled around in a parking lot, a DARPA researcher with a laptop would occasionally take control of the car, like by applying its brakes or, conversely, removing the ability for Stahl to use the brakes. Hacking into vehicles has been in the news for years: Car and Driver ran a feature on the various ways cars could be hacked in 2011, two hackers released a car-hacking code at the hacker-fest Defcon in 2013 and demonstrated how it worked on a Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, and German researchers demonstrated how they could hack into BMW's Connected Drive remote-services system last week via an attack on the cars' telematics units. This isn't about GM or Onstar or the future; hacking into cars of all kinds isn't coming, it's here, and it doesn't take the half-billion-dollar annual budget of a small DARPA division to do it. Check out the 60 Minutes video on the CBS site (you can watch the entire video from a mobile device without logging in). The OnStar hacking starts at 6:45, but it's worth watching what leads up to that. News Source: Jalopnik Chevrolet Safety Technology Infotainment Autonomous Vehicles Videos Sedan hacking 60 minutes

Both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay slated for Chevrolet lineup

Long awaited, the race among automakers to keep drivers connected to their smartphones has officially entered a new era. Hyundai said Tuesday it would be the first manufacturer to put Google's Android Auto into a production car, the 2015 Hyundai Sonata sedan. Not to be outdone, General Motors said today it'd offer both Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay on several Chevrolet models set to hit dealerships this summer. By giving car buyers the choice between these rival phone-projection systems, Chevrolet hopes to quell concerns from prospective customers worried about the compatibility of their smartphones and vehicles. "It's about providing choice," said Alicia Boler-Davis, GM's senior vice president for global connected car consumer experience. "No two customers are alike, and we cannot expect a single solution that works for every driver in every situation." Across the industry, automakers are rushing to add both to their cars as a growing base of customers seek an array of connected features. Estimates from automotive technology research firm SBD indicate smartphone-integrated content is available in 36 percent of current vehicles, and the company expects that penetration rate will grow to 84 percent by 2025. For Chevrolet, the systems will be available on select 2016 iterations of the Cruze, Camaro, Volt, Spark and Malibu as early as next month, and appear on 14 Chevy models overall for the 2016 model year. They're available on all trim levels, but they only work with the company's MyLink infotainment package installed in the cars, and the first to hit showrooms will only work on the seven-inch touchscreen models. "CarPlay and Android Auto, these are things that are addressable to the broad market, and I think it makes a lot of sense for GM to put it into Chevys first," IHS Automotive senior analyst Mark Boyadjis said. Via physical connections, both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allow users access to smartphone features like turn-by-turn directions, phone calls, voice-to-text messages and music streaming. Interfaces are similar to the ones found on the respective smartphones, but on the dashboard, they're redesigned for a simpler, in-car experience. Fonts are larger, for example, and easier to press on a touchscreen. CarPlay relies heavily on Siri so that drivers spend more time staring at the road instead of their touchscreen. That sounds good, at least in theory.

Drivers buy new $300K McLaren 720S, 2019 Chevy Corvette, and wreck 'em

Two high-powered, high-priced sports cars, wrecked in their infancies. No doubt they were fun while they lasted. In Great Falls, Va., a tony suburb of Washington, D.C., that hugs the Potomac River, someone was out enjoying driving the McLaren 720S they had purchased only the day before on a leafy, two-lane road. Then, horror: In an instant, the car hit a tree, mangled and destroyed "because of speed," according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Purchased Friday. Totaled Saturday. This McLaren 720S, costing around $300,000, was destroyed today in Great Falls because of speed. The driver was taken to the hospital with thankfully only non-life threatening injuries. A reminder to slow down, or it could cost you. pic.twitter.com/XhC3LKRY1t — Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) July 14, 2018 Then on salvage auction site Copart, a brand-new orange 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport lies in a warehouse in Lincoln, Neb., its front left corner crushed, wheel askew. It had just 15 miles on the odometer. We know nothing of the backstory, except for the obvious front-end damage and secondary damage to the undercarriage. The rear end and 6.2-liter V8 engine, which makes 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, look OK. The most current bid as this was published was just north of $9,000. It's tempting in both cases to assign the blame to over-eager drivers who weren't quite yet able to corral all that power. In the case of the McLaren, the supercar makes 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque from its quad-cam, twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8. It goes from 0-62 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds and boasts a top speed of 212 mph. We're not saying the unidentified driver was a newbie, but this car is definitely not for newbies. Police write that the incident is "A reminder to slow down, or it could cost you." As in, $300,000. Or at least the depreciation for driving it off the lot. Related Video: