Nissan disables Leaf electric cars app over hacking concernsFebruary 26, 2016 - 12:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Nissan has disabled the official app for its Leaf electric cars over concerns that a software flaw left the vehicles open to hackers. Security researcher Troy Hunt discovered the vulnerability and warned the Japanese automaker that hackers could use it to remotely drain a car's battery and get their hands on journey data, Digital Spy reports citing BBC News. Hackers could theoretically monitor their target's location and drain their battery to leave them stranded miles from home. However, the glitch did not put lives at risk as it cannot by exploited while a car is in motion. Nissan has denied that any of its electric vehicles pose a safety issue, but has admitted that its eNV200 electric vans were also vulnerable and disabled the app as a precautionary measure. "We apologise for the disappointment caused to our Nissan Leaf and eNV200 customers who have enjoyed the benefits of our mobile apps," said Nissan in a statement. "However, the quality and seamless operation of our products is paramount. We're looking forward to launching updated versions of our apps very soon." The software flaw exists because the Leaf app was not configured to verify the driver's identity, only the vehicle's identification number, which is stencilled into its windscreen. As these are relatively easy to obtain, hackers could potentially use them to gain remote access to a Leaf or Nissan electric van. Hunt informed the car company about the glitch a month ago, but only when he published a blog about the problem did they respond. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. |