FBI bulletin says ELDs did ‘little to nothing’ to follow cybersecurity guidelines

[Mike]

Industry and academic research into a selection of self-certified electronic logging devices found those in the sample did little to nothing to follow cybersecurity best practices and were vulnerable to compromise.

That’s the takeaway from a cybersecurity bulletin issued by the FBI’s Cyber Division earlier this week. The sample included ELDs that could be purchased off the shelf at superstores and ELDs supplied by well-known companies.

The agency warns that cyber criminals could exploit vulnerabilities in ELDs, which became required equipment in most commercial trucking operations in December 2017. Last December was the deadline for companies using an AOBRD to switch to e-logs.


“Although the mandate seeks to provide safety and efficiency benefits, it does not contain cybersecurity requirements for manufacturers or suppliers of ELDs, and there is no requirement for third-party validation or testing prior to the ELD self-certification process,” the bulletin states. “This poses a risk to businesses because ELDs create a bridge between previously unconnected systems critical to trucking operations.”

FBI bulletin says ELDs did ‘little to nothing’ to follow cybersecurity guidelines

A new bulletin by the FBI’s Cyber Division is warning truckers and motor carriers of the potential for serious security vulnerabilities in ELDs.

landline.media

 

[Mike]

Sounds like the government is looking to get their noses deeper up our ass via the ELD. Call it a hunch.

 

[Rigjockey]

So an ELD can be hacked.
After picking up a high dollar load you can say Hi-Jack.

 

[ironpony]

Sounds like the government is looking to get their noses deeper up our ass via the ELD. Call it a hunch.

@Hammer166 looked into these things more than anyone else, but I'm not so sure the gubbermint really understands these things. ELDs don't have the hardware to alter the functioning of an ECM if I recall correctly. If thats the case, a hacker could screw with your logs, but couldn't do anything to the truck.

 

[Mike]

@Hammer166 looked into these things more than anyone else, but I'm not so sure the gubbermint really understands these things. ELDs don't have the hardware to alter the functioning of an ECM if I recall correctly. If thats the case, a hacker could screw with your logs, but couldn't do anything to the truck.

I'm not sure the government wants to really understand them. Seems more like an effort to push toward controlling them and making it easier to for them to access.

Supposedly, it's all passive and there is no way to control the vehicle. That said, hackers are a bit more smarter about these things that us. If there is a way, they can find it.

 

[ironpony]

Supposedly, it's all passive and there is no way to control the vehicle. That said, hackers are a bit more smarter about these things that us. If there is a way, they can find it.

They're "read only" devices IIRC. Without the hardware to "write" data to the ECM, it doesn't matter how smart a hacker is. It can't be done.

 

[Mike]

They're "read only" devices IIRC. Without the hardware to "write" data to the ECM, it doesn't matter how smart a hacker is. It can't be done.

You may be right. That said, I'm not an expert in hacking, and you likely aren't either. I have heard the same thing, many times, and I hope it is the case.

With hackers, though, who knows.

 

[Electric Chicken]

@Hammer166 looked into these things more than anyone else, but I'm not so sure the gubbermint really understands these things. ELDs don't have the hardware to alter the functioning of an ECM if I recall correctly. If thats the case, a hacker could screw with your logs, but couldn't do anything to the truck.

They think truckers are gonna figure out how to change line 3.

They don't care about the truck getting hacked.

 

[Mike]

They think truckers are gonna figure out how to change line 3.

They don't care about the truck getting hacked.

Bingo!

 

[mndriver]

Read only huh.

 

[mndriver]

 

[Shogun Warrior]

You may be right. That said, I'm not an expert in hacking, and you likely aren't either. I have heard the same thing, many times, and I hope it is the case.

With hackers, though, who knows.

Wait are you saying IronPony isn't a hack?

 

[ironpony]

Wait are you saying IronPony isn't a hack?

Yeah dagnabbit! Is that what yer sayin'??!!!

 

[Shogun Warrior]

Yeah dagnabbit! Is that what yer sayin'??!!!

His silence speaks volumes.

 

[Hammer166]

They're "read only" devices IIRC. Without the hardware to "write" data to the ECM, it doesn't matter how smart a hacker is. It can't be done.

That's really the key question, can they talk on the datalink or only listen? Because if they can transmit, it's easy enough to spoof other components and cause all sorts of issues, especially since the body controllers on today's trucks handle so many functions.

That said there are still limits on what a hacker could do, even if the ELD could transmit. The engine control systems aren't on the datalink, the engine just gets information via the link. They could send a fake ACM failure from the aftertreatment module, for example, but there is no mechanism to control the engine via the datalink. So it's not like they could command full throttle or kill your engine directly. But if they continually send fault codes from the ACM, you better have a shutdown override switch to keep the truck running!

 

[Electric Chicken]

That's really the key question, can they talk on the datalink or only listen? Because if they can transmit, it's easy enough to spoof other components and cause all sorts of issues, especially since the body controllers on today's trucks handle so many functions.

That said there are still limits on what a hacker could do, even if the ELD could transmit. The engine control systems aren't on the datalink, the engine just gets information via the link. They could send a fake ACM failure from the aftertreatment module, for example, but there is no mechanism to control the engine via the datalink. So it's not like they could command full throttle or kill your engine directly. But if they continually send fault codes from the ACM, you better have a shutdown override switch to keep the truck running!

1988 Ford FTMFW.

 

[ironpony]

That's really the key question, can they talk on the datalink or only listen? Because if they can transmit, it's easy enough to spoof other components and cause all sorts of issues, especially since the body controllers on today's trucks handle so many functions.

That said there are still limits on what a hacker could do, even if the ELD could transmit. The engine control systems aren't on the datalink, the engine just gets information via the link. They could send a fake ACM failure from the aftertreatment module, for example, but there is no mechanism to control the engine via the datalink. So it's not like they could command full throttle or kill your engine directly. But if they continually send fault codes from the ACM, you better have a shutdown override switch to keep the truck running!

I don't think any of them have the capability of transmitting or "writing" across the data link.

 

[Mike]

I don't think any of them have the capability of transmitting or "writing" across the data link.

But, how would you begin to even know? There's a bazillion systems out there and no oversight about how they were built. All that matters is that they record specific data.

Also, no oversight into who is making them, which opens up another can of worms in potential problems.

You are plugging into a connection that other people can plug into and change anything. Without knowing anything about the people making these systems, anything is just a guess.

 

[Hammer166]

But, how would you begin to even know? There's a bazillion systems out there and no oversight about how they were built. All that matters is that they record specific data.

Also, no oversight into who is making them, which opens up another can of worms in potential problems.

You are plugging into a connection that other people can plug into and change anything. Without knowing anything about the people making these systems, anything is just a guess.

While I agree with most of your points, it's important to remember the J1939 is a communication bus, not a control bus. There's no real mechanism to make changes to the truck systems. Flooding the network with false info or spoofing other devices on the network could cause plenty of problems, but they wouldn't be permanent changes.

 

[Mike]

While I agree with most of your points, it's important to remember the J1939 is a communication bus, not a control bus. There's no real mechanism to make changes to the truck systems. Flooding the network with false info or spoofing other devices on the network could cause plenty of problems, but they wouldn't be permanent changes.

Very true.

that said, you can plug into the diagnostic port of a truck to turn it up. Things that plug into the DLC can change most of the parameters of a vehicle.

for a typical truck, not much you could do unless you had a hacker involved in your operation that just wanted to disable a truck. In a matter of 5 minutes, you truck can be shut down for overheating. At that point, your truck is hijacked.

Likelihood of this happening? Not very. I would be surprised if a hijacking operation ever had the overhead to be able to pay somebody with that talent.

As we move forward into trucks with autonomous abilities, which Freightliner already has in their 2021 models, and full autonomous, which there is a strong push to get to, there is no telling what that DLC will provide access to.