Car Hacking Research: Remote Attack Tesla Motors by Keen Security Lab

Security researchers from China-based tech company Tencent have identified a series of vulnerabilities that can be exploited to remotely hack an unmodified Tesla Model S while it’s parked or on the move.

An 8-minute video published on Monday by Tencent’s Keen Security Lab shows that researchers managed to perform various actions. While the vehicle was parked, the experts demonstrated that they could control the sunroof, the turn signals, the position of the seats, all the displays, and the door locking system.

While the car was on the move, the white hat hackers showed that they could activate the windshield wipers, fold the side view mirrors, and open the trunk. They also demonstrated that a remote hacker can activate the brakes from a long distance (e.g. 12 miles, as shown in the experiment).

According to Keen Lab researchers, the attacks they demonstrated are possible due to a series of vulnerabilities that have been chained together.

“As far as we know, this is the first case of remote attack which compromises CAN Bus to achieve remote controls on Tesla cars,” the researchers said. “We have verified the attack vector on multiple varieties of Tesla Model S. It is reasonable to assume that other Tesla models are affected.”

Based on the video made available by Keen Lab, it appears that a specific Tesla Model S can be identified and hacked while its owner is searching for nearby charging stations.