I agree that that's a better solution. But in what utopia is that going to happen. It would have to be government mandate to stop all over the air updates because no single company would take the extra cost when the competition isn't. This would only be done by a government after an attack takes place.
Re:Self-Crashing Cars
by singingboyo on Tuesday January 30, 2018 @04:33PM
(#16269253)
Well, in a true utopia it'd be unnecessary, because no one would hack the cars. Which would be nice, but... unlikely.
In any case, I agree that it's unlikely unless there's a severe disaster related to OTA updates, but it's still the best solution from a security and safety perspective.
They're expensive, annoying, etc. But they're safe (or safer, at least), and if you screw up badly enough that a safety-critical system needs an update, they're necessary.
I don't think anyone is arguing that the infotainment system should be disconnected from the world, but the core driving systems (steering, brakes, transmission, etc) should be air-gapped and inaccessible without physical access to the interior of the car. Also, that access could (and maybe should) be disabled when the car's engine is running, preventing an attacker from plugging in a wireless device and then subverting the system with the car in motion.