Chrysler’s solution to the Jeep hack Is 1.4 million USB drives

From Techcrunch
You’ve probably read the WIRED story “Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway—With Me in It” by now. Either way, it was scary as hell. Today, the company behind Jeep has finally taken action and announced that it’s “recalling” 1.4 million vehicles because of what happened with WIRED’s Andy Greenberg. It’s not your typical recall, though…more on that in a second.

Greenberg’s original report starts out hot and heavy:

I WAS DRIVING 70 mph on the edge of downtown St. Louis when the exploit began to take hold.

Though I hadn’t touched the dashboard, the vents in the Jeep Cherokee started blasting cold air at the maximum setting, chilling the sweat on my back through the in-seat climate control system. Next the radio switched to the local hip hop station and began blaring Skee-lo at full volume. I spun the control knob left and hit the power button, to no avail. Then the windshield wipers turned on, and wiper fluid blurred the glass.

The recall isn’t really a recall at all, in that owners of Jeeps won’t be returning their vehicles. They’re being sent a USB stick with a software update to fix the exploits the above hackers attacked.

It’s not just the Jeep Cherokee that’s affected, though:

Affected are certain vehicles equipped with 8.4-inch touchscreens among the following populations:
2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles
2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups
2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs
2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs
2014-2015 Dodge Durango SUVs
2015 MY Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans
2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes

If you fall under that group, go here and enter your VIN to get the USB stick: http://www.driveuconnect.com/software-update/

Still, Chrysler makes it sound like this isn’t a huge deal:

The software manipulation addressed by this recall required unique and extensive technical knowledge, prolonged physical access to a subject vehicle and extended periods of time to write code.

No defect has been found. FCA US is conducting this campaign out of an abundance of caution.

Chrysler is trying to make us feel better by saying that the hackers featured in the WIRED story were really smart and had time to spend with the car. Unlike what…any other smart hackers on the planet?

I’ll take the Caltrain from now on, thank you.

For more on this story go to: http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/24/screw-your-usb-im-taking-caltrain/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

Fiat Chrysler slapped with record $105 million fine, will buy back 500,000 vehicles

By Associated Press from Mashable

Fiat Chrysler will buy back from customers more than 500,000 Ram pickup trucks in the biggest such action in U.S. history as part of a costly deal with U.S. safety regulators to settle legal problems in about two-dozen recalls.

The trucks, which are the company’s top-selling vehicle, have defective steering parts that can cause drivers to lose control, and some previous repairs have been unsuccessful. So to get them off the roads, Fiat Chrysler agreed to the buyback, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owners also have the option of getting them repaired, the agency said in documents released Sunday.

Also, owners of more than a million older Jeeps with vulnerable rear-mounted gas tanks will be able to trade in their vehicles for more than market value or be paid to get them repaired, the agency said in a statement.

The Jeeps’ fuel tanks are behind the rear axle and have little to shield them in a rear crash. They can rupture and spill gasoline, setting the vehicles on fire. At least 75 people have died in crash-related fires, although Fiat Chrysler maintains they are as safe as comparable vehicles from the same era.

Both the Jeep and Ram measures are part of a larger settlement between the government and the automaker that includes a record $105 million fine and the appointment of an independent recall monitor.

” Today’s action holds Fiat Chrysler accountable for its past failures, pushes them to get unsafe vehicles repaired or off the roads Today’s action holds Fiat Chrysler accountable for its past failures, pushes them to get unsafe vehicles repaired or off the roads and takes concrete steps to keep Americans safer going forward,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the statement. The record civil fine, he said, puts automakers on notice that NHTSA will take action when recall laws aren’t followed.

NHTSA has been involved in vehicle buybacks in the past, but never with this many vehicles. A buyback usually happens when a problem is so serious that it can’t be fixed and the vehicles need to be removed from service. The buyback and the Jeep trade-ins likely will cost Fiat Chrysler hundreds of millions of dollars or more.

The agency’s actions come less than a month after it held a rare public hearing to detail problems with 23 Fiat Chrysler recalls covering more than 11 million cars and trucks. It’s another sign that NHTSA is taking a much tougher stance against automakers that don’t obey auto safety laws.

The fine beats the old record of $70 million assessed against Honda Motor Co. for lapses in recalls of air bags made by Takata Corp.

At the July 2 hearing, NHTSA detailed a litany of shortfalls: failure to notify customers of recalls, delays in making and distributing repair parts and in some cases failing to come up with repairs that fix the problems. Some of the recalls date to 2013.

During the hearing, Fiat Chrysler did not dispute any of NHTSA’s allegations. Scott Kunselman, the company’s head of vehicle safety, said it is changing the way it manages safety to follow the industry’s best practices. The safety system, he said, has been reorganized with added personnel. He now reports directly to CEO Sergio Marchionne. Previously the person in his position was three rungs down the organization chart from the chief executive, he said.

“We have learned from our mistakes and missteps,” he said.

IMAGES:
JOHN BAZEMORE/ASSOCIATED PRESS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACQUELYN MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx speaks about the Takata air bag inflator recall, Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

For more on this story go to; http://mashable.com/2015/07/26/fiat-chrysler-to-buy-back/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher