Uber Hires Jeep Hackers to Secure Vehicles
Uber is working on a self-driving car and has hired two hackers to help create a secure network
Photo: Julien GONG Min
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em—right? At least, that’s the philosophy that Uber currently has. The car-sharing service recently hired two hackers known for their recent hacking of a Jeep Cherokee to help create a secure system for self-driving cars.
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Computer security engineers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek will work in the service’s Pittsburgh offices, home of Uber’s self-driving car and robotics research lab. They will work hand-in-hand with Joe Sullivan, the company’s chief security officer, and John Flynn, the chief information security officer.
The automotive industry is becoming increasingly dependent on self-driving technology, making it more important to focus on creating secure networks. In order to self-drive, cars have to communicate with each other, causing them to be overtly vulnerable to hackers. Miller and Valasek will work to reduce these vulnerabilities among Uber’s self-driving technology.
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Miller, who worked for Twitter before hacking into the Jeep Cherokee, confirmed he is starting his employment with Uber today:
Looking forward to starting Tuesday with the great team at @Uber Advanced Technology Center. Should be a cool challenge and a lot of fun.
— Charlie Miller (@0xcharlie) August 28, 2015
With these two hackers on its side, Uber is sure to have one of the most safe and secure self-driving car services in the world.
News: Time
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