UConnect Disable Cell ModemAuthor: David Zimmer Date: 06.21.19 - 5:53am So the UConnect infotainment unit in my car has a built in cell modem. I find this creepy. The vendor includes this feature for several reasons:
"Drive Rating is a usage-based insurance program that provides eligible connected vehicle owners with an opportunity to receive feedback on their driving habits and possible car insurance discounts based on specific driving criteria. If enrolled, your driving data, such as speed, hard braking, fast acceleration and GPS coordinates are collected for 90 days." Soo bottom line is we dont have control over our car anymore. It can be remotely controlled, located, tracked, taken (repo), and mined for diagnostic data and/or profile your driving by design. Furthermore the cell modem will be making connections all the time to cell towers leaving a map of everywhere you drive in the cell phone tower logs similar to your cell phone, except you can not control it. Finally, an embedded computer system in your car, with 0 tools to monitor it, which can take in remote data from the internet, and is hooked to your cars vital systems and include access to a microphone is always on in a private space where you have frank conversations with friends and family. What could go wrong? I find this a ridiculous feature set and nothing that I want to be a part of. I rely on this machine to operate safely without the chance of being manipulated remotely. I do not accept having tools for spying, monitoring, remote vulnerabilities and location tracking features being built into my car. That is not what I paid for at all. Now dont get me wrong, no one cares about me, but things like this being forced on the masses who are blind to its side effects is unacceptable and it will be abused. Job boards for reverse engineers are full of posts looking for people who work embedded security and develop exploits for systems just like this. These car units are prime targets. Why is an iPhone exploit worth $100,000 ? because it gives select people access to your intimate details and thus power over you and your life. This has bothered me for my last 3 vehicles, so finally I took the plunge and went inside the head unit and removed the modem. If you are a journalist, judge, lawyer, senator, CEO limiting your exposure to un-detectable and un-auditable intrusion is just a fact of modern life. Essentially anyone who holds sensitive information which could be profited off of or who could be vulnerable to leverage should be thinking about these things these days. See video below on how to remove the cell modem built into your car The chip these use it is a Qualcomm 4G Sierra Wireless AirPrime card
If you are interested in privacy the following links will also be of interest:
Unfortunately in our current environment we have no reason to trust. Expectation of privacy has been severely eroded and in truth is almost non-existent. "Anything viewable in public has no expectation of privacy" has been whimsically extended to justify blanked recording, and profiling of..well everyone. How is it not stalking to build an intimate map of everywhere a person goes and to know all kinds of things about them. I havent even mentioned web tracking yet which in truth is the most intimate of them all. Comments: (3)On 09.26.19 - 6:49am Dave wrote:
On 12.23.19 - 9:04am Dave wrote:
On 01.13.20 - 7:12pm Allen wrote:
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