The tech used here is the popular Flipper Zero, an ethical hacker’s swiss army knife, capable of all sorts of things such as WiFi attacks or emulating NFC tags. Now, 404 Media has found an underground trade where much shadier hackers sell extra software and patches for the Flipper Zero to unlock all manner of cars, including models popular in the U.S. The hackers say the tool can be used against Ford, Audi, Volkswagen, Subaru, Hyundai, Kia, and several other brands, including sometimes dozens of specific vehicle models, with no easy fix from car manufacturers.

  • int32@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    8 hours ago

    “ethical hacker’s swiss army knife” I hate it when they always add “ethical”. First of all, when you say ethical you mean law-fearing, they don’t really care about ethics and, secondly, “regular” hackers use it too, so it’s just a hacker’s swiss army knife…

    • AnotherUsername@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      7 hours ago

      Dude, do you want individual hacking to become illegal? Because people who are not hacking daily are prone to forgetting that some hackers don’t actually act maliciously.

      Also, yes, some hackers are ethical and do care. Not you, obviously. But some.

      • monotremata@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        3 hours ago

        Yeah, I definitely read that as an effort to preempt the folks who were going to yell about how clearly this means the Flipper Zero should be illegal. Hacking has been so poorly represented in TV and films that there are a distressing number of people who don’t realize the term can even have a positive connotation.