Hi
My name is Anne and I just bought a used car and have issues with the whole connected car agenda, mainly concerning hacking of the car. I therefore bought a 2013 model without to many wireless connections. However due to city safety and radar (probably other functions goes online too) - it appears the car is still online despite my effort to go offline.
My question in that connection is pretty simple and complicated at the same time, since the discussion of hacking of a connected car is quite limited, regardless that YouTube is flooded with videos on how to hack a car :-)
Anyways, my question is: if you have reasons to believe, that you ECU has been hacked and you want to change it - do you have to change every computerpart in the car in that connection? And to the people who are really into the area concerning the ECU, Can Bus and transponder etc: What informations does one need to have, to hack a car?
Hope my question isn't too unconventional.
Best wishes
Anne from Denmark

 

I do not think you can "hack" a volvo without getting into the volvo network. And even with that, they have very little to gain in doing so. Hacking an ECU does nothing to someone wanting to gain from their work. Hacking into a car like in the movies would take so much work, that they would most likely get caught before they can even do anything.

I think your worries go unfounded.

 

for a car to be "online" it needs to be connected to a service provider. Systems like "On-Star" or "On Call" use a standard wireless telco connection via a modem. (for pre 2017 US cars, most likely its a 3G modem which in the US, ATT, Verizon et al have decommissioned that network service). Google for info on how people are scrambling to upgrade their cars to a 4G modem. Not sure if Volvo On Call was even an option in 2013 but on newer cars, I suppose somebody could simply disable the modem to go dark or simpler yet, do not subscribe to the service. So to hack into a car, first the car would need to be accessible via a service provider. Second the bad actor would need to know all the security protocols and proprietary data calls used to do stuff like start/stop the car, finally they'd need to know your car's device address info. (out of the 100,000+ cars Volvo sold, how do they know your car?).