The electronics will have brought many good things to the transport sector, but any medal has its reverse. If the possible hacking of electric vehicles worries in high places, concerns now reach the world of cycling. The high -end bikes used in certain races are now likely to be attacked by hackers, reveals The Debrief.
“Safety flaws of wireless speed change systems can have a critical impact on the safety and performance of cyclists, especially during professional races”write researchers from the University of San Diego (California) and the Northeastern University in a recent article. The latter indicate that pirates could “Cause accidents or injury by handling speed changes or blocking the speed change operation”.
The transition to a wireless braking system allows bikes to be more aerodynamic, quality very popular with professional cycling teams. This system is based on a communication protocol named Ant+ which allows cyclists to order the derailleur of their mount, but which presents the disadvantage of “Disclosing information allowing the authors of attacks to monitor what their targets do in real time”.
Open house
Researchers from the two universities have discovered that hackers are able to access the speed and brake controls of bikes without the need to authenticate, on the simple condition that it is in use. To prove it, they themselves played the hackers, by entering the braking system of one of the bikes before handling it remotely thanks to a software radio.
At this stage, they were not able to carry out this operation by placing themselves less than 10 meters from their target. But to the extent that hackers often have a few lengths ahead of those who constantly try to stop their action, we can imagine that some are already working on means of rating for a much longer distance from the targeted bicycle.
Potential hacking is particularly dangerous because it is able to block and completely deactivate the gear passage. This is why researchers worked in partnership with Shimano, a Japanese company specializing in the manufacture of cycles and components for cycles. The results of their work will be revealed during a conference organized in Philadelphia on August 12 and 13 and dedicated to computer security.
Overall, the proposed solution requires the implementation of fixes intended to prevent information leaks and attempts to interfere. Shimano, who had to gradually extend his field of action beyond the simple mechanical sector in order to continue to evolve with his time, will therefore have to offer regular updates, adapted to the new risks gradually identified.
“It is essential to adopt the point of view of the opponent and to ensure that this technology can resist the authors of motivated attacks in the highly competitive environment of professional cycling”write the researchers, who are therefore not hidden: very clearly, they fear that some malicious sports directors call upon hackers capable of infiltrating the wireless braking system of their competitors. The Tour de France authorizing these devices, we dare not imagine the disaster that such an attack would represent during a stage.
