How to Hack a Tesla Model S

DEF CON 23

Presented by: Kevin Mahaffey, Marc Rogers
Date: Friday August 07, 2015
Time: 14:00 - 14:50
Location: Track Two

The Tesla Model S is the most connected car in the world. It might surprise you to hear that it is also one of the most secure. In this talk we will walk you through the architecture of a Tesla Model S noting things that Tesla got right as well as identifying those that they got wrong. From this talk you will get an intimate understanding of how the many interconnected systems in a Tesla model S work and most importantly how they can be hacked. You will also get a good understanding of the data that this connected car collects and what Tesla does with this telemetry. We will also be releasing a tool that will enable Tesla Model S owners to view and analyse that telemetry in real time. Finally we will also be releasing several 0day vulnerabilities that will allow you to hack a Tesla Model S yourself - both locally and remotely. Note - only one of the 6 vulnerabilities we will discuss and release has been fixed. Disclaimer: With great access comes great responsibility - In other words we are not responsible for any Tesla Model S bricked by over enthusiastic attendees of this talk :)

Marc Rogers

Marc Rogers aka Cyberjunky has been a prominent member of the hacking scene since the 80’s.  Some of his most notable achievements are co-founding the notorious British hacker group, “The Agents of a Hostile Power” and his role in creating and appearing in the award winning BBC TV series “The Real Hustle”. Marc’s professional career spans more than twenty years, including a decade managing security for the UK operator Vodafone. Marc is currently the principal security researcher for web optimization and security company “CloudFlare. As well as his work in the infosec and telecoms industries, Marc has also been a CISO in South Korea and co-founder of a disruptive Bay Area start-up. Some of Marc’s notable recent hacks include Google Glass, Apple TouchID and most recently the Tesla Model S.

Kevin Mahaffey

Kevin is an entrepreneur and technologist with a background in mobile and web technology, security, and privacy. He is the CTO of Lookout, a company dedicated making the world a safer place as it becomes more connected, starting with smartphones and tablets. He co-founded Lookout in 2007 and is responsible for driving Lookout’s technology to protect people from current and future threats while keeping the product simple and easy to use. He started building software when he was 8 years old and it has been a love affair ever since. Kevin is a frequent speaker on security, privacy, mobile, and other topics.


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