TFA says that they just installed a bluetooth adapter in the OBD2 port, and then ran something like Techstream via the wireless link. Possible for most any modern car to varying degrees. Meh. That requires access to the interior, and a fairly close proximity since even hacked bluetooth is not long range. Not a very worrisome scenario. Make sure there is no little device plugged into your OBD2 port.
Sounds stupid. And "Why?". I don't know what this "research" is suppose to prove. I suppose you could make a headline "Toyota Prius prone to Exploding", then go on to explain that in a brief moment of physical access you attached a stick of dynamite to the bottom of the vehicle. They made the headlights turn off and on? They made the horn honk? ......(deadpan)- whooo...neat...but I can pretty much do that now by using the remote buttons on my Fob. I feel sorry for Toyota that they are forced to respond to headlines that get created like this. With the Prius they have created a mass produced vehicle that works out in the real world. I don't really know what it is suppose to prove or what benefit is gained by "proving" that by attaching devices to The Prius, and hacking into the OBD II port you can change the parameters of vehicle operation. Yeah..so what? I've watched several episodes of "Myth Busters" and I think in one they made a 1970's rambler drive itself over a cliff, and in another episode they spent most of the time shooting a vehicle with bullets trying to make it explode. I think they eventually just had to use high explosives. But eventually they got the explosion. I also watched a show once where some guys turned a front loading washing machine into an Aquarium. I guess my point is, with enough work, I expect you can make any machine do things it's not originally designed to do. What does that really prove? I don't really care if they hacked into a Prius and made it stand up vertically and start singing "Putting On The Ritz", even though I'd like to see that.... If the justification for this "research" is autonomous cars of the future? Well fine. But headlines like "Car Hackers Take Control of Toyota Prius" are misleading and inflammatory in light of what really happened, and why it happened.
Just to show that this is nothing unique to the Prius, here is an article about a similar "hack" being performed on a Ford. It's the same basic idea, it requires a laptop connected to the OBD port. Hackers Reveal Nasty New Car Attacks--With Me Behind The Wheel (Video) - Forbes
What's shocking is that these people sometimes get funding from government institutions like DARPA to turn on fog lights from a computer. Then you're going to have these already education-deprived rednecks believing that the Prius is actually more vulnerable to hacking than a Chevrolet pickup that also has OBD-II. If this research is actually going to be practical for the future of civilians -- like driverless cars -- then they can go on. If this is just another way for our military to spend its overinflated budget, then I'm against it. These scientists could be developing safety features that will actually protect people instead of just turning a Prius into a giant R/C toy.
