Cars now run on the new oil -- your data.

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 17 Dec 2019, 20:39

What does your car know about you? We hacked a Chevy to find out.

Our privacy experiment found that automakers collect data through
hundreds of sensors and an always-on Internet connection. Driving
surveillance is becoming hard to avoid.
...
...
On a recent drive, a 2017 Chevrolet collected my precise location. It
stored my phone’s ID and the people I called. It judged my
acceleration and braking style, beaming back reports to its maker
General Motors over an always-on Internet connection.
...
...
We’re at a turning point for driving surveillance: In the 2020 model
year, most new cars sold in the United States will come with built-in
Internet connections, including 100 percent of Fords, GMs and BMWs and
all but one model Toyota and Volkswagen. (This independent cellular
service is often included free or sold as an add-on.) Cars are
becoming smartphones on wheels, sending and receiving data from apps,
insurance firms and pretty much wherever their makers want. Some
brands even reserve the right to use the data to track you down if you
don’t pay your bills.
...
...
Modern vehicles don’t just have one computer. There are multiple,
interconnected brains that can generate up to 25 gigabytes of data per
hour from sensors all over the car. Even with Mason’s gear, we could
only access some of these systems.
...
...
For a broader view, Mason also extracted the data from a Chevrolet
infotainment computer that I bought used on eBay for $375. It
contained enough data to reconstruct the Upstate New York travels and
relationships of a total stranger. We know he or she frequently called
someone listed as “Sweetie,” whose photo we also have. We could see
the exact Gulf station where they bought gas, the restaurant where
they ate (called Taste China) and the unique identifiers for their
Samsung Galaxy Note phones.
...
...
In our Chevy, we probably glimpsed just a fraction of what GM knows.
We didn’t see what was uploaded to GM’s computers, because we couldn’t
access the live OnStar cellular connection. (Researchers have done
those kinds of hacks before to prove connected vehicles can be
remotely controlled.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... -find-out/

Post by **June** » 18 Dec 2019, 06:52

As much as the 2020 XC90 appeals to me, the smart tech really bothers me. I have been really thinking about buying a car lately, but find myself wishing for a time machine to go back to 04 and getting another S80 T6 new. Back in my youth I bought a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis and I have found memories of it. Maybe car makers should look into the past and consider producing a simple, comfortable, big car with normal controls. Here is a 78 I am considering purchasing on autotrader. June

Post by **jimmy57** » 18 Dec 2019, 14:26

They left out the social media system a 78 big car with 450+ cubic inch engine also comes with: you get lots of social contacts with all gas station owners around you.

If any car maker or the gov't, etc. wants to follow me on any one of a number of electronic tech devices then knock yourselves out. The people watching my activities will be the ones that have fallen over on their desks and are sleeping. Wal-mart, Oreilly's, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, and Aldi's. Online I'm watching youtubes of buses being restored, tractors being fixed, trucks and cars being tested, cats chasing lasers, dogs chasing cats, horses, rodeo, various parts replacements on vehicles, Googling hundreds of diverse and non-threatening words, songs, people, places, and weather checks. I may be very much clueless but I feel like the black ops militia gives a crap about law abiding poor folks trying to keep their old cars, trucks, and tractors running. If some fancy ass car gets tracking info on me and steers clear of a collision with me I don't see that as a bad thing. I guess maybe I have one fear: it is that they will hear all the gruesome things I am planning out loud to do to those that drive in the left lane for no reason and also those that are inattentive drivers. If they hear that then I'm to Guantanamo Bay lockup......

Post by **MoVolvos** » 18 Dec 2019, 14:32

jimmy57 wrote: ↑18 Dec 2019, 14:26 They left out the social media system a 78 big car with 450+ cubic inch engine also comes with: you get lots of social contacts with all gas station owners around you.

I think Jack In The Box and Gas Stations were the social hang outs in the late eighties.

Post by **abscate** » 18 Dec 2019, 14:35

I think I could mount two B5243T3 engines in there

Post by **MoVolvos** » 18 Dec 2019, 14:42

June wrote: ↑18 Dec 2019, 06:52 As much as the 2020 XC90 appeals to me, the smart tech really bothers me. I have been really thinking about buying a car lately, but find myself wishing for a time machine to go back to 04 and getting another S80 T6 new. Back in my youth I bought a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis and I have found memories of it. Maybe car makers should look into the past and consider producing a simple, comfortable, big car with normal controls. Here is a 78 I am considering purchasing on autotrader. June

I get an email every month telling me the 2019 ATLAS is running FINE and when the Next Service is due? I don't subscribe to anything?

The Grand Marquis looks like a Lincoln Continental?
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The 78 Cougar XR7 with the 451 Cleveland had this special sound with the Dual Exhaust Turbo Mufflers and No CATS. Almost like it had a CAM upgrade. BM Shift Kit and 50 Series BFG TA's on lowered springs (clamps). The smell of the exhaust was unique and I think it ran on Leaded Fuel.
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Post by **Rattnalle** » 19 Dec 2019, 00:09

If you've got a smartphone already I wouldn't start worrying about the car's data collection.

Post by **June** » 19 Dec 2019, 01:33

Rattnalle wrote: ↑19 Dec 2019, 00:09 If you've got a smartphone already I wouldn't start worrying about the car's data collection.

I'm not as worried about data collection as Volvo's piss poor track record standing behind technology. Just ask those of us who payed for the carphone/OnCall option... just to have it only work for a handful of years!!! Volvo blamed it on AT&T, but ultimately they could/should have upgraded the equipment. Really from what I understand the technology was outdated at the time of my car's production and Volvo was relying on AT&T's guarantee to service these vehicles. They simply can't be trusted (imho) to keep the rolling smartphones they are building in working order... Technology changes too quickly these days. June

Post by **Rattnalle** » 19 Dec 2019, 01:51

It's not just Volvo. The IT stuff in cars has always been old already when the cars are released not to mention a few years after the model had gone on sale. Cars have a development cycle of 10-20 years while smartphones and other stuff is one or two.

So in some ways it's nice to have an old car where there's nothing even remotely modern to worry about or try to get to work.

Tesla is so far the only company to sell an IT product with a car around it rather than the opposite.

Post by **June** » 19 Dec 2019, 07:18

Rattnalle wrote: ↑19 Dec 2019, 01:51 It's not just Volvo. The IT stuff in cars has always been old already when the cars are released not to mention a few years after the model had gone on sale. Cars have a development cycle of 10-20 years while smartphones and other stuff is one or two.

So in some ways it's nice to have an old car where there's nothing even remotely modern to worry about or try to get to work.

Tesla is so far the only company to sell an IT product with a car around it rather than the opposite.

That sounds nice, but Erickson made the equipment for Volvo. Therefore Volvo could have had Erickson design a replacement board to allow the system to run 4G. A recall was in order. Undoubtedly over the years a million P2 owners paid for it and got the finger. Volvo is a BIG corporation. I simply cannot accept they could not get Erickson to make a patch or that by 2004 could not get a carphone to run a digital network. It simply was not cost effective... June