[mtgx]

To me this is much more worrying:

> As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.

https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

Given the fact that car makers don't even have "PC age" security in their cars, things are looking pretty bad for self-driving cars in general.

[v64]

Makes the conspiracy theories regarding journalist Michael Hastings' death in 2013 seem more plausible. [1]

Former U.S. National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism Richard A. Clarke said that what is known about the crash is "consistent with a car cyber attack". He was quoted as saying "There is reason to believe that intelligence agencies for major powers — including the United States — know how to remotely seize control of a car. So if there were a cyber attack on [Hastings'] car — and I'm not saying there was, I think whoever did it would probably get away with it."[68]

Cenk Uygur, friend of Hastings' and host of The Young Turks, told KTLA that many of Michael's friends were concerned that he was "in a very agitated state", saying he was "incredibly tense" and worried that his material was being surveilled by the government. Friends believed that Michael's line of work led to a "paranoid state".[80] USA Today reported that in the days before his death, Hastings believed his car was being "tampered with" and that he was scared and wanted to leave town.[81]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hastings_(journalist)

[tzs]

> Makes the conspiracy theories regarding journalist Michael Hastings' death in 2013 seem more plausible.

Not really. The possibility of taking over unmodified cars remotely was not very widely known at the time. An organization that knew about that and had the technology to actually do so would not want to use it except on high value targets that they could not reach by more conventional means, because they would want to keep this capability under the radar of potential targets for as long as possible.

Due to the nature of his work Hastings would have been easy to take out by conventional means. He was an investigative reporter. It would be easy to feed him a lead on some story, like some important political person having a connection to a drug gang, and set up a meeting in a sketchy part of town with someone who says they want to give him confidential information about that. There would be nothing suspicious about that, and it would be easy to arrange for this fake meeting to go bad and end up with Hastings dead.

This would look like a sad but not totally unexpected way for a bold, risk taking, investigative reporter to die, and there would be not even a hint of a connection to any government agency.

If his car did not have remote vulnerabilities, and so any takeover involved modifying the car, then killing him by car takeover is even more absurd. It runs the risk of the modifications being discovered between the time they are installed and the time they are used (what if he takes his car in for service and the mechanic finds them?), and if used in a place where the agency doing the assassination does not have control of the scene afterwards risks the mods being discovered in the wreckage.

[v64]

Agreed, which is why I think this information is additional evidence and not a smoking gun. I do think given what is public knowledge, the prospect of the CIA using an experimental new technique on a target like Hastings is suspect.

Ultimately though, we don't know what he uncovered and intended to publish, and how long the CIA had to react to it. An extraordinary revelation may have necessitated an extraordinary reaction. The point is that the new information takes the concept of malicious car hacking from speculation to reality.

[coffeehike]

His brother and family don't believe the conspiracy theories. If there was any evidence, I don't think they'd be scared to say so in such an emotional state.

Also in the police report, I believe his brother said he had been using DMT and he tested positive for what was likely Adderall. He was in a unique state to truly be paranoid and throwing psychedelics in the mix could cause one to try to cope in ways that challenge reality.

Of course, this also would be the perfect time to stage a murder and it's not improbable that someone did discuss killing him. Also DMT only last 5-10 minutes, he certainly wasn't driving while doing it and if anything, it can give you a sense of peace and acceptance to the craziness of life.

[v64]

I think given what we knew until today, it was prudent for his family to deny the theories. Now that we have evidence showing car hacking isn't just some theoretical exploit, but something they were actively looking into around that time, it merits reexamination.

[jMyles]

> Makes the conspiracy theories regarding journalist Michael Hastings' death in 2013 seem more plausible.

I never thought they seemed implausible.

[izend]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hastings_(journalist)#...

Potential assassination?

[Synaesthesia]

These are great arguments against super power private institutions (corporations) that operate in secret and are essentially unaccountable to the public.

[1001101]

One of the many reasons I drive a manual. RIP Michael Hastings.

[throwaway_nosue]

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