Comment by spicyjpeg
8 hours ago
The article does not make it particularly clear, but the malware in question is delivered through official first-party OTA updates on cheap Chinese aftermarket head units that happen to run Android. It cannot self-propagate to any Android-based head unit, nor does it affect Android Auto which is a "dumb" screen mirroring protocol with the bulk of the software running on the connected phone rather than the head unit. This seems to be a very similar situation to that of cheap generic Android TV streaming boxes, which often come pre-infected from the factory with residential proxies and other malware as well; most of the infrastructure is likely shared.
Why do they gloss right over how this was distributed? Barring details of any other kind of exploit we would have to assume the vendor's update server was compromised? If so why don't they just say so.
To avoid charges of libel.
In America its not libel if it's true
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Indeed this is an odd disclosure and I am not familiar with past posts by them.
Moreover, no CVE is associated with this claimed vulnerability. It's not even stated which Android version or automotive head-unit variant version is affected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspersky_and_the_Russian_gove...
Oh, I see I'm getting downvoted by the Russian bots, quelle surprise.
It’s astonishing how this relatively long article contains not a shred of actual evidence that any of this is true. It’s all “alleged”, “raised concerns”, “sources said” etc.
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This makes me think whether the whole chain is an intelligence side business — sell cheap electronics for profit and at the same time own them too.
It cannot self-propagate to any Android-based head unit
Remember that not that long ago viruses spread through floppy disks.
Today, people share USB sticks full of music from one car to another all the time. They also bring their music from their home car to a rental car and back.
I’ve never met anyone irl who used USB sticks full of music. I know the capability is there in most cars, just never seen it. It seems like Bluetooth capability and Spotify/Apple Music landed in mainstream cars too soon after “play MP3s from USB” was added, for that to catch on.
Most people just bring their phone between cars for music.
> nor does it affect Android Auto which is a "dumb" screen mirroring protocol with the bulk of the software running on the connected phone rather than the head unit
Huh, how does that work anyway? And while we're at it, Apple CarPlay as well? Both can run wirelessly via Bluetooth, but BT is nowhere near capable enough to stream full bandwidth video?
Wireless AA and CarPlay use a hotspot your car emits that your phone connects to and transfers the image/inputs/audio that way
Wireless CarPlay uses Bluetooth to exchange SSID and key info before switching over to WiFi for the duration of the session.
Wow that's cursed, never realized that's how it worked.
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It uses Bluetooth to stream audio, but everything else happens through a WiFi connection exposed by the car that the phone automatically pairs with after the Bluetooth handshake.
The way I understand it, the connection is negotiated via BT, but then wifi is used for the fat data pipe to run the display.
They didn't run over BT. BT is used to initiate communication and share the password to a wifi-network. It then uses that Wi-Fi network for most communication, keeping the BT channel strictly for telephony.
I thought the latest Bluetooth protocols were basically designed to hand off to an ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection between the two devices after the initial handshake. (Might be an oversimplification of the real protocol)
They actually run over WiFi (WiFi direct IIRC) - Bluetooth is mostly just used as a setup handshake and to help the head unit decide which phone in the car should be the one connected.
> It cannot self-propagate to any Android-based head unit
Article does not say that.
Headline really quite clearly implies it, though. I think the correction is apt.
Bottom line is that lots of HN commenters here, as is our wont, will see this as a platform bug with a hated rival and not a bad third party integration that introduced vulnerabilities.
Like, if it was a Linux-based edge system from some fly-by-night contractor, would you be OK with a headline like "Malware infects Debian based refrigerators"? What'd Debian do?
It’s no different than how the old Ford Sync or something else could have been compromised.
The two big things here in my mind are:
1. Android Automotive has gotten very popular since it provides so much and writing your own OS is very very hard and expensive as so many car makers found out
2. Aftermarket head units often use it (see #1) so it’s likely far easier to get out there than if you had to compromise Ford/VW/Volvo/whoever
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