Just bought a 2017 prime advanced. I've read lots of info about hacking it's systems. Does anyone know if there's anything I could buy that would prevent my car from being hacked?
Welcome to Prime membership! You mean articles about hacking other vehicle's systems, right? I've not seen any Prius Prime specific articles. Not saying they won't have the same problem if someone tried, I just have not read about it. I'm not aware of any security measure you can employ outside of what the vehicle provides just short of finding a way to power down the vehicle's cell service that Safety Connect uses. PS, update your vehicle in your user profile to reflect your Prime.
All the articles about Toyotas I have read, the perp was inside the car, wired to the OBDII plug. Try to avoid letting random hackers inside your car have access to your OBDII bus! They can turn back on that annoying reverse beeping!
It’s good to be concerned about the cybersecurity of your car, but most of the responsibility rests with the automakers and their suppliers. I’m not aware of any security products you could install, like anti-virus or firewall software for PCs, if that’s what you had in mind. Indeed, not attaching vulnerable third-party devices is the most important precaution you can take. As @JimboPalmer mentions, and as I discussed in another thread, it’s a good idea not to connect any device to the data link connector (DLC3 or OBD II) on the car, unless it’s necessary and you’re sure of its security. Your Bluetooth-paired mobile phone and the car’s own telematics transceiver (cellular radio), which is used for Toyota’s Safety Connect service, are its main interfaces to the outside world. If you don’t use it, you could unpair the phone, of course, and I suppose you could deactivate the telematics transceiver, or to avoid unnecessary diagnostic trouble codes, connect terminating resistors in place of its antennas. It may well be more likely, though, that Safety Connect would bring needed, perhaps even life-saving, help after a serious collision, than that your car would be hacked because of a vulnerability in Toyota’s service or equipment, especially if you drive often on lightly-traveled roads where a collision might not otherwise be reported promptly to the emergency services.
Aside from what was already mentioned...your biggest deterrent is there really isn't a market for stolen Prius. A few traction batteries and maybe the occasional air bag have been reported, but those are smash and grabs where s/w had no play. Keep up your insurance up, relax and enjoy your new ride. The odds are way in your favor.
