A 19-year-old teenager named David Columbo showed off his success in hacking more than 20 Teslas spread across 13 countries.
David Columbo is an IT security expert, who through his thread on Twitter showcased his success in hacking dozens of electric cars, of course without the knowledge of the owner.
What can he do about the hacked Tesla? Lots. It can search for the specific location of the car, turn off security, open doors and windows, play music and YouTube videos including volume, and much more.
But Columbo insisted, he could not drive the car remotely. However, if he could physically approach the car, Columbo could easily steal the car.
Still, this loophole could be dangerous for Tesla drivers. For example, the hacker could turn on the music at a very loud volume, to startle the driver. Or it could also annoy other drivers by turning on and off the lights repeatedly.
Columbo explained that he was able to hack Tesla because of a security hole that arose due to user error, not a security hole that did exist in Tesla's software.
Although it is not Tesla's fault, they also admit that they will find a way to patch this security hole. Even so, this problem should indeed be a homework for Tesla.
