Software & Electronics
In wake of Volkswagen scandal, cheating may actually get easier
The three crises that rollicked the auto industry in recent months – a rising death toll related to the General Motors ignition-switch defect, the Jeep Cherokee hack and now the Volkswagen cheating scandal – all have one thing in common. Outsiders discovered the problems.
Complex Car Software Becomes the Weak Spot Under the Hood
Shwetak N. Patel looked over the 2013 Mercedes C300 and saw not a sporty all-wheel-drive sedan, but a bundle of technology.
There were the obvious features, like a roadside assistance service that communicates to a satellite. But Dr. Patel, a computer science professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, flipped up the hood to show the real brains of the operation: the engine control unit, a computer attached to the side of the motor that governs performance, fuel efficiency and emissions.
Volkswagen’s Diesel Fraud Makes Critic of Secret Code a Prophet
A Columbia University law professor stood in a hotel lobby one morning and noticed a sign apologizing for an elevator that was out of order. It had dropped unexpectedly three stories a few days earlier. The professor, Eben Moglen, tried to imagine what the world would be like if elevators were not built so that people could inspect them.
Mr. Moglen was on his way to give a talk about the dangers of secret code, known as proprietary software, that controls more and more devices every day.
Comments of Consumers Union and Center for Auto Safety to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communications
Click here to view the Consumer’s Union and CAS Comment on V2V Communications