Cybersecurity
Nissan Disables Leaf Electric Car App After Cross-Continent Hack
- Australian security researcher says he accessed Leaf in U.K.
- App allowed remote temperature controls, other functions
Nissan's Leaf.
Photographer: AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Nissan Motor Co. disabled a mobile application for controlling its Leaf electric car after a security researcher demonstrated how hackers could access temperature controls and other functions from across continents.
Japan’s second-largest automaker made the app unavailable after Australian researcher Troy Hunt demonstrated an ability to hack into a friend’s Leaf in the U.K. and access information about the battery status and climate controls. Hunt wrote that the car’s vehicle identification number, which is visible through the car’s windshield, was the only piece of information needed to undermine the app’s insecure programming.