Another reason why I won’t get one:
Full story
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From your linked article:
The report by Christopher Balding, who is also the founder of New Kite Data Labs, a non-profit think-tank
Methinks they’ve been doing too much thinking…
'38Packard
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I would say too much irrationalizing.
On a related note…
Marco De Vincenzi, a researcher at the Istituto di Informatica e Telematica (IIT) in Pisa, Italy, is trying to bring attention to this issue. He and his colleagues led a discussion on EV security and privacy vulnerabilities at the 2023 IEEE 97th Vehicular Technology Conference. The results of their presentation are highlighted in a subsequent conference paper.
De Vincenzi notes that when people plug their EVs into charging stations, it’s not just power flowing through those cables. “These charging stations handle all sorts of data, from how you pay to your exact location,” he explains. “But here’s the kicker: The rules to keep this info secure? They’re like a door with no lock.”…
But De Vincenzi cautions that the impacts of malicious attacks on EV security can extend beyond individuals. “EV charging stations are often linked to the broader energy grid, forming a connection that, if not properly secured, can become a gateway for trouble,” he explains.
DB2
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May I suggest:
Sometimes I just really want to go around and kick a lot of people in the head. 
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There’s an app for that…
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Nothing new under the sun department. A demonstration was done on an ICE powered Jeep SUV several years ago, where a hacker wirelessly penetrated the car, and manipulated all the systems.
The security vulnerability has nothing to do with being an EV. All cars that have become rolling video games are vulnerable.
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Fair enough, but my petrol Audi doesn’t have any Chinese connections, or does it?
Made in Mexico, about as far away from China as possible:
It doesn’t need to be Chinese. If you want the malicious code implemented in hardware, it might help to be made in China. But, as the Jeep demonstration showed, malicious code does not need to be implemented in hardware. With greedy OEMs seeking to extract subscription fees from owners to enable features of a car, net connections to enable activating subscription features will push the vulnerability door farther open.
Does your hecho en Mexico Audi have Chinese electronics in it? Probably. I remember the newspapers reporting Ford was starting to buy auto parts from China twenty years ago. All the “JCs” care about is cheap. Vulnerabilities are the owner’s problem, especially if the narrative of twenty years ago, that all liability suits from proles are “junk”, takes hold again, and the OEM’s are shielded.
Steve
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That is what I was wondering
All the law requires is the sticker state place of final assembly and source for engine and transmission. All the ChiCom electronics are not disclosed.
Steve
Correct. It is not an EV vulnerability it is an autopilot vulnerability. If the car cannot drive itself, then the hack has limited impact on the damage it can do.
Apparently there are Tic Tok lessons on how to steal some cars - again it’s the electrics that are the problem:
Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge.
Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last decade do not have engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars that prevents the engine from starting unless the key is present.
That is patently false. Your article doesn’t state that anywhere and just a little bit of research would show you otherwise.
Hyundai, Kia thefts: Some insurers reject the cars, but dealers keep selling : NPR.
Officials say more than eight million Hyundais and Kias from model years 2011 to 2022 can be hotwired with a USB cable and lack an engine immobilizer, a common anti-theft feature that prevents the engine from starting unless the vehicle’s key is nearby. They increasingly have become targets for thieves.
Kia and Hyundai didn’t make EVs 10 years ago. Also, note that it is the “engine” being hotwired, not the motor.
None of these are EVs (very few are PHEV, none are BEV):
Kia Models
- 2011–2021 Forte.
- 2021–2022 K5.
- 2011–2020 Optima.
- 2011–2021 Rio.
- 2011–2021 Sedona.
- 2021–2022 Seltos.
- 2010–2022 Soul.
- 2011–2022 Sorento.
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From the article:
Videos circulating on the social media service TikTok have shown how people can start Kia and Hyundai models by using only a screwdriver and a USB cable. In Los Angeles, thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars increased by about 85% in 2022, now accounting for 20% of all car thefts in the city, according to the California attorney general’s office.
Various cities are threatening to sue them over it:
They would do better throwing car thieves into jail but the world is a bit upside down at the moment 
Some thieves are now internet ‘stars’
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I’m not sure how much that would help to be honest. We’ve had thieves forever. And as a country the US already has a very high per-capita incarceration rate. I really don’t think a lack of penalties is our problem.
Regarding Chicago suing them to me that makes sense. If you have a product that is easy to steal you are creating a greater burden on your law enforcement, your insurance industry, and your citizens. None of those things are good.
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It certainly is in the UK. There was an ex policeman (Inspector) on TV the other day who said that you could probably get caught about fifty times for shoplifting before you’d go to jail.
Most car thieves do not face court action:
I often think about an ex-client who spent some time working in one of the gulf states. He used to bring gold back with him and told me that the gold dealers there would just draw a curtain over the shop door when they went to the mosque to pray. A day on the beach and you could leave your wallet, cameras and any other valuables when you went for a meal and find them untouched when you returned. Doesn’t that tell you something about the way that we now live?
Absolutely it does. And that makes me really wonder, if we incarcerate so many of our people, is there a reason why we have to do that? And is the solution to the problem something other than “throwing more of them in prison”.
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Throwing them in jail would give the rest of us a break
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How about on a secluded island?
'38Packard
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