Hackers gain access to Tesla Model 3 system – they get to keep the car as a reward

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• Tesla wants to identify and close security gaps
• Hackers could have completely taken over Tesla
• Winners can look forward to Tesla and high prize money

Tesla sponsors hacking competition

As in 2019, Tesla recently participated in the annual cybersecurity competition event Pwn2Own, where hackers try to find and exploit vulnerabilities in various software products. The vulnerabilities discovered during the event help companies improve the security of software and hardware products to protect against attacks by malicious hackers. Tesla is not only a participant, but also a sponsor.

Hackers exploit various vulnerabilities

As part of the Pwn2Own, which as usual took place in Vancouver, Canada, hackers managed to gain access to a Tesla Model 3. According to the organizer Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), a hacker group called “Synacktiv” carried out two successful attacks on the electric car through.

According to a blog entry by the organizer, the first attack was a so-called TOCTOU attack. TOCTOU stands for “Time-of-Check-to-Time-of-Use” and describes a type of software vulnerability in which various security measures are bypassed with the help of timing tricks. The hackers were thus able to gain access to the Tesla gateway, which is responsible for the internal communication of the vehicle systems. As part of the second attack, a Tesla vehicle computer that had been removed was attacked by the hackers. After a short time, the attackers succeeded in replacing the standard Tesla view on the screen with their own motif.

The hacker group “Synacktiv” announced on Twitter that the two-stage attack on the Tesla would make a complete takeover of the vehicle possible. This was made possible by exploiting two different memory gaps, as the organizer announced. Detailed information about the attacks was not published for security reasons.

Winners will receive Tesla Model 3

As the winner of this year’s competition, the hacker group “Synacktiv” can look forward to attractive prizes. The winning hacker group received prize money totaling 530,000 US dollars for successfully carrying out the two-stage attack. In addition, Tesla gave the group a Model 3 as a prize.

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