A teen hacker David Colombo has claimed that he has found a software vulnerability in the system that allowed him to take control of numerous Tesla vehicles around the world.
The researcher tweeted earlier this week that he acquired “full remote control of over 20 Teslas in ten countries and there seems to be no way to find the owners and report it to them.”
Tesla has not confirmed or denied the attack. However, Colombo told the publication that he was in touch with the carmaker about the security flaw. This indicates something suspicious if the timing for this is noted.
Colombo was quick to clarify in a follow-up tweet that “this is not a vulnerability in Tesla’s infrastructure. It’s the owner’s fault.”
Colombo says he figured out how to disable Sentry Mode which is a security feature that uses the vehicle’s several cameras to look out for intruders, along with opening the doors and windows.
He also claimed he was able to start Keyless Driving. “Yes, I potentially could unlock the doors and start driving the affected Teslas,” he wrote in a tweet.
But taking them for a longer ride, fortunately, seemed to be impossible.
“No, I cannot intervene with someone driving (other than starting music at max volume or flashing lights) and I also cannot drive these Teslas remotely,” he wrote.
It is said that Tesla is looking into this matter and will officially provide an update soon. This will confirm or deny the claim made by the hacker.
“This will be described more in detail in my writeup,” he told Bloomberg. “But glad to see Tesla taking action now.”
