Car Hacker – s Handbook, No Starch Press
Car Hacker’s Handbook
Get 30% off with the coupon code CARHACKERS
“The world needs more hackers, and the world undoubtedly needs more car hackers. We’re all safer when the systems we depend upon are inspectable, auditable, and documented—and this undoubtedly includes cars.”
—Chris Evans, from the Foreword
“By turns funny, scary, and intriguing, The Car Hacker’s Handbook is a practical guide for tinkerers and a fantastic overview for people who want to know what’s going on when they strap themselves into a multi-ton, high-speed computer.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook describes, in meticulous detail, how your car’s components talk both to one another and to diagnosticians—outlining all the ways good and bad guys can modify or attack the systems.”
Modern cars are more computerized than ever. Infotainment and navigation systems, Wi-Fi, automatic software updates, and other innovations aim to make driving more convenient. But vehicle technologies haven’t kept tempo with today’s more hostile security environment, leaving millions vulnerable to attack.
The Car Hacker’s Handbook will give you a deeper understanding of the computer systems and embedded software in modern vehicles. It embarks by examining vulnerabilities and providing detailed explanations of communications over the CAN bus and between devices and systems.
Then, once you have an understanding of a vehicle’s communication network, you’ll learn how to intercept data and perform specific hacks to track vehicles, unlock doors, glitch engines, flood communication, and more. With a concentrate on low-cost, open source hacking contraptions such as Metasploit, Wireshark, Kayak, can-utils, and ChipWhisperer, The Car Hacker’s Handbook will demonstrate you how to:
- Build an accurate threat model for your vehicle
- Switch sides engineer the CAN bus to fake engine signals
- Exploit vulnerabilities in diagnostic and data-logging systems
- Hack the ECU and other firmware and embedded systems
- Feed exploits through infotainment and vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems
- Override factory settings with performance-tuning mechanisms
- Build physical and virtual test benches to attempt out exploits securely
If you’re nosey about automotive security and have the urge to hack a two-ton computer, make The Car Hacker’s Handbook your very first stop.
Craig Smith runs Theia Labs, a research rock-hard that concentrates on security auditing and building hardware and software prototypes. He has worked for several auto manufacturers and provided them with his public research. He is also a founder of the Hive13 hackerspace and OpenGarages.org. Craig is a frequent speaker on car hacking and has run workshops at RSA, DEF CON, and other major security conferences.
Chapter 1: Understanding Threat Models
Chapter Two: Bus Protocols
Chapter Three: Vehicle Communication with SocketCAN
Chapter Four: Diagnostics and Logging
Chapter 6: ECU Hacking
Chapter 7: Building and Using ECU Test Benches
Chapter 8: Attacking ECUs and Other Embedded Systems
Chapter 9: In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems
Chapter Ten: Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
Chapter 11: Weaponizing CAN Findings
Chapter 12: Attacking Wireless Systems with SDR
Chapter 13: Spectacle Tuning
Appendix A: Implements of the Trade
Appendix B: Diagnostic Code Modes and PIDs
Appendix C: Creating Your Own Open Garage
Craig Smith did a Reddit AMA and answered questions about car hacking, IoT security, and safe vehicle demos. See Craig’s O’Reilly webcast where he instructed viewers about reversing the CAN bus on Linux.
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook a guide on how to switch sides engineer, exploit, and modify any kind of embedded system; cars are just the example. Craig presents this in a way that is eminently comprehensible and spends enough time reinforcing the idea of hacking a car securely, legally, and ethically. It’s a superb read, an excellent introduction to fiddling with embedded bits, and truly wielding the devices you’ve already purchased.”
“Smith has done a marvelous job of providing a practical introduction to the world of vehicle systems and the contraptions used to interact with them for both benign and malicious purposes. Certainly a recommended read.”
“No matter where you stand on the vehicle cybersecurity issue—and perhaps like me you need to learn more about this subject—The Car Hacker’s Handbook is an excellent guide and reference.”
An article by Craig Smith on hacking your own car and the right to tinker is featured on Dark Reading.
“No Starch Press has taken on the task of turning The Car Hacker’s Handbook into a beautifully produced, professional book, in a fresh edition that builds on the original, vastly expanding the material while at the same time improving the organization and updating it to encompass the otherwise-bewildering array of fresh developments in car automation and hacking.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is a comprehensive guide to reverse-engineering and understanding the digital control systems in a modern vehicle. This book is a wake-up call to automakers, legislators, and regulators, announcing the fact that technology enthusiasts can and will proceed to fiddle with their cars. The bar for automotive software quality just got raised.”
“At almost three hundred pages, The Car Hacker’s Handbook covers a lot of potential security risks, and as autonomous systems become more ubiquitous and sophisticated, there could be even more risks.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is well worth reading. The practical information on automotive networks and protocols is invaluable. All things considered, that is what one wants from a hacker’s handbook.”
“Craig Smith has written a fascinating book about how connected cars work, and how they can be hacked. For those that want to understand what goes on under the spandex hood of the car from a software perspective, The Car Hacker’s Handbook is a most worthwhile read.”
“If you have your own car and are interested in understanding the ins and outs of its networking and security, this is the reference book to use.”
“If you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes when you drive your car, and how exploitable it is, this is a book worth reading.”
Craig Smith, “one of the pre-eminent automotive security experts on the planet, author of The Car Hacker’s Handbook and the founder of the Open Garages vehicle research lab,” was interviewed by Forbes about his book and research.
“With people like author Craig Smith and books such as The Car Hacker’s Handbook, open information and standards and collective skill are the ways to secure our safety on the road.”
—Network Security Newsletter
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook by Craig Smith not only details the multiplicity of hacks that have already been perpetrated on unaware automobile ECUs but promises to be a ‘Guide for the Invasion Tester’ interested in ‘attacking ECUs’ and ‘passive CAN bus fingerprinting.’”
Craig Smith spoke to The Globe and Mail about the reality of car hacking and threats consumers face.
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is not just a technical guide for car enthusiasts and those with an interest in cybersecurity. If you work on, or modify cars, this book could be your Bible.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook by Craig Smith is an excellent resource that is worth a place next to your Chilton repair manuals. Rather than an afterthought, security is front and center with The Car Hacker’s Handbook. Anyone interested in electronically cracking into cars, or ideally thwarting such intrusions, should consider cracking into Smith’s book very first.”
“Protect yourself and your car with The Car Hacker’s Handbook. This book can be a fine reference device or even a spring or summer read. Smith doesn’t set out to be an alarmist, but this book truly makes you think.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook has pages of programming and technical information for tinkerers (i.e., hackers). But it also provides a public service as the very first work of its kind to analyze computer-based systems that make them vulnerable to attack and exploitation. If your company has a fleet, you might want to check it out.”
“If you are a serious car nut who regularly tinkers around, love problem-solving codes, or are worried about security, pick up this guide and give the tricks inwards a attempt. It could have a significant influence on your security.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook invites digging deep within and getting your forearms “dirty” digitally. Chock utter of information and diagrams. For those with a yen for hacking a two-ton computer, drive on over to a bookstore and wrap your palms around this.”
“A good resource if you’re attempting to hone your automotive abilities or if you have an interest in the networks and security of cars.”
“Even if you aren’t interested in becoming a car invasion tester, but you do want to know more about the collection of computers you routinely drive, you would do well to buy and read this book.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is, on the one forearm, an significant work that can be very useful to those who want to find the ways and mean to protect vehicles from cyber-attack, and, on the other, scary as hell for the rest of us.”
“Smith is set on providing skill that will help users improve their car’s security and spectacle. The ultimate aim is to shed light on the inward workings of modern cars, detect potential security weaknesses and urge automakers to fix them, detect intentional choices that shouldn’t have been made (e.g. Volkswagen emissions scandal), and to know what you are driving.”
According to Craig Smith, “Really any vehicle on the market right now is susceptible”. Read more in his interview with I3 Magazine.
“A car hacker’s bible. Smith cites the importance of having individuals as well as auto makers continually check and test their vehicles. He also cites the importance of public awareness that can pressure both manufacturers and safety agencies into developing safeguards and standards designed to keep ahead of the threat. And these indeed are only the early steps in a very long haul issue.”
“A detailed overview of the computer systems and embedded software ubiquitous in today’s fresh cars. The author describes the numerous entry points where a hack can occur. Commencing with CAN, the infotainment system, the engine control unit (ECU), and more.”
“As cars become more connected and contain more software than ever, their vulnerabilities are being publicly exposed, often to the good embarrassment of automakers. Craig Smith’s excellent, detailed book lifts the lid on all the major threat vectors in the vehicle, with good technical depth. For anyone interested in security and the modern vehicle, or whose job depends on these areas, there is simply no better book out there!”
—Andrew Brown, Strategy Analytics, Executive Director of Enterprise and IoT Research
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is useful, insightful, and brimming with pragmatic advice. Very recommended to those in the automotive and security industries.”
—Prof. Christof Ebert, Vector Consulting Services
One of Opensource.com‘s “Hot open source books” of 2016!
“Easily the best book I have ever found for learning about how to use a CAN bus. I would recommend this book for engineers working with embedded systems, even if they do not work with cars. I give this book five out of Five.”
“A useful resource for cybersecurity experts.”
Page Nineteen Under the Extended Packets heading, the line:
“. it won’t break if another packet transmits extended CAN packets. “
“. it won’t break if another sensor transmits extended CAN packets. “
Page 55 should have a note added to the end of the penultimate paragraph:
. instead of the positive + 0x40 response). You can send a request to 0x7DF and it should generate a response from all listening ECUs. This response value will be anything from 0x7E8 to 0x7EF. If you want to address just one ECU directly, you subtract eight from the response value; for example, if you see a response of 0x7E8 you can use 0x7E0 to query only that ECU.
Car Hacker – s Handbook, No Starch Press
Car Hacker’s Handbook
Get 30% off with the coupon code CARHACKERS
“The world needs more hackers, and the world certainly needs more car hackers. We’re all safer when the systems we depend upon are inspectable, auditable, and documented—and this certainly includes cars.”
—Chris Evans, from the Foreword
“By turns funny, scary, and intriguing, The Car Hacker’s Handbook is a practical guide for tinkerers and a fantastic overview for people who want to know what’s going on when they strap themselves into a multi-ton, high-speed computer.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook describes, in meticulous detail, how your car’s components talk both to one another and to diagnosticians—outlining all the ways good and bad guys can modify or attack the systems.”
Modern cars are more computerized than ever. Infotainment and navigation systems, Wi-Fi, automatic software updates, and other innovations aim to make driving more convenient. But vehicle technologies haven’t kept tempo with today’s more hostile security environment, leaving millions vulnerable to attack.
The Car Hacker’s Handbook will give you a deeper understanding of the computer systems and embedded software in modern vehicles. It embarks by examining vulnerabilities and providing detailed explanations of communications over the CAN bus and between devices and systems.
Then, once you have an understanding of a vehicle’s communication network, you’ll learn how to intercept data and perform specific hacks to track vehicles, unlock doors, glitch engines, flood communication, and more. With a concentrate on low-cost, open source hacking implements such as Metasploit, Wireshark, Kayak, can-utils, and ChipWhisperer, The Car Hacker’s Handbook will demonstrate you how to:
- Build an accurate threat model for your vehicle
- Switch sides engineer the CAN bus to fake engine signals
- Exploit vulnerabilities in diagnostic and data-logging systems
- Hack the ECU and other firmware and embedded systems
- Feed exploits through infotainment and vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems
- Override factory settings with performance-tuning technologies
- Build physical and virtual test benches to attempt out exploits securely
If you’re nosey about automotive security and have the urge to hack a two-ton computer, make The Car Hacker’s Handbook your very first stop.
Craig Smith runs Theia Labs, a research stiff that concentrates on security auditing and building hardware and software prototypes. He has worked for several auto manufacturers and provided them with his public research. He is also a founder of the Hive13 hackerspace and OpenGarages.org. Craig is a frequent speaker on car hacking and has run workshops at RSA, DEF CON, and other major security conferences.
Chapter 1: Understanding Threat Models
Chapter Two: Bus Protocols
Chapter Trio: Vehicle Communication with SocketCAN
Chapter Four: Diagnostics and Logging
Chapter 6: ECU Hacking
Chapter 7: Building and Using ECU Test Benches
Chapter 8: Attacking ECUs and Other Embedded Systems
Chapter 9: In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems
Chapter Ten: Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
Chapter 11: Weaponizing CAN Findings
Chapter 12: Attacking Wireless Systems with SDR
Chapter 13: Spectacle Tuning
Appendix A: Instruments of the Trade
Appendix B: Diagnostic Code Modes and PIDs
Appendix C: Creating Your Own Open Garage
Craig Smith did a Reddit AMA and answered questions about car hacking, IoT security, and safe vehicle demos. See Craig’s O’Reilly webcast where he trained viewers about reversing the CAN bus on Linux.
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook a guide on how to switch sides engineer, exploit, and modify any kind of embedded system; cars are just the example. Craig presents this in a way that is eminently comprehensible and spends enough time reinforcing the idea of hacking a car securely, legally, and ethically. It’s a fine read, an excellent introduction to fiddling with embedded bits, and truly wielding the devices you’ve already purchased.”
“Smith has done a marvelous job of providing a practical introduction to the world of vehicle systems and the instruments used to interact with them for both benign and malicious purposes. Certainly a recommended read.”
“No matter where you stand on the vehicle cybersecurity issue—and perhaps like me you need to learn more about this subject—The Car Hacker’s Handbook is an excellent guide and reference.”
An article by Craig Smith on hacking your own car and the right to tinker is featured on Dark Reading.
“No Starch Press has taken on the task of turning The Car Hacker’s Handbook into a beautifully produced, professional book, in a fresh edition that builds on the original, vastly expanding the material while at the same time improving the organization and updating it to encompass the otherwise-bewildering array of fresh developments in car automation and hacking.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is a comprehensive guide to reverse-engineering and understanding the digital control systems in a modern vehicle. This book is a wake-up call to automakers, legislators, and regulators, announcing the fact that technology enthusiasts can and will proceed to fiddle with their cars. The bar for automotive software quality just got raised.”
“At almost three hundred pages, The Car Hacker’s Handbook covers a lot of potential security risks, and as autonomous systems become more ubiquitous and sophisticated, there could be even more risks.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is well worth reading. The practical information on automotive networks and protocols is invaluable. All things considered, that is what one wants from a hacker’s handbook.”
“Craig Smith has written a fascinating book about how connected cars work, and how they can be hacked. For those that want to understand what goes on under the fetish mask of the car from a software perspective, The Car Hacker’s Handbook is a most worthwhile read.”
“If you have your own car and are interested in understanding the ins and outs of its networking and security, this is the reference book to use.”
“If you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes when you drive your car, and how exploitable it is, this is a book worth reading.”
Craig Smith, “one of the pre-eminent automotive security experts on the planet, author of The Car Hacker’s Handbook and the founder of the Open Garages vehicle research lab,” was interviewed by Forbes about his book and research.
“With people like author Craig Smith and books such as The Car Hacker’s Handbook, open information and standards and collective skill are the ways to secure our safety on the road.”
—Network Security Newsletter
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook by Craig Smith not only details the multiplicity of hacks that have already been perpetrated on unaware automobile ECUs but promises to be a ‘Guide for the Invasion Tester’ interested in ‘attacking ECUs’ and ‘passive CAN bus fingerprinting.’”
Craig Smith spoke to The Globe and Mail about the reality of car hacking and threats consumers face.
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is not just a technical guide for car enthusiasts and those with an interest in cybersecurity. If you work on, or modify cars, this book could be your Bible.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook by Craig Smith is an excellent resource that is worth a place next to your Chilton repair manuals. Rather than an afterthought, security is front and center with The Car Hacker’s Handbook. Anyone interested in electronically violating into cars, or ideally thwarting such intrusions, should consider cracking into Smith’s book very first.”
“Protect yourself and your car with The Car Hacker’s Handbook. This book can be a good reference instrument or even a spring or summer read. Smith doesn’t set out to be an alarmist, but this book truly makes you think.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook has pages of programming and technical information for tinkerers (i.e., hackers). But it also provides a public service as the very first work of its kind to analyze computer-based systems that make them vulnerable to attack and exploitation. If your company has a fleet, you might want to check it out.”
“If you are a serious car nut who regularly tinkers around, love problem-solving codes, or are worried about security, pick up this guide and give the tricks inwards a attempt. It could have a significant influence on your security.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook invites digging deep within and getting your mitts “dirty” digitally. Chock total of information and diagrams. For those with a yen for hacking a two-ton computer, drive on over to a bookstore and wrap your forearms around this.”
“A superb resource if you’re attempting to hone your automotive abilities or if you have an interest in the networks and security of cars.”
“Even if you aren’t interested in becoming a car invasion tester, but you do want to know more about the collection of computers you routinely drive, you would do well to buy and read this book.”
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is, on the one mitt, an significant work that can be very useful to those who want to find the ways and mean to protect vehicles from cyber-attack, and, on the other, scary as hell for the rest of us.”
“Smith is set on providing skill that will help users improve their car’s security and spectacle. The ultimate objective is to shed light on the internal workings of modern cars, detect potential security weaknesses and urge automakers to fix them, detect intentional choices that shouldn’t have been made (e.g. Volkswagen emissions scandal), and to know what you are driving.”
According to Craig Smith, “Really any vehicle on the market right now is susceptible”. Read more in his interview with I3 Magazine.
“A car hacker’s bible. Smith cites the importance of having individuals as well as auto makers continually check and test their vehicles. He also cites the importance of public awareness that can pressure both manufacturers and safety agencies into developing safeguards and standards designed to keep ahead of the threat. And these truly are only the early steps in a very long haul issue.”
“A detailed overview of the computer systems and embedded software ubiquitous in today’s fresh cars. The author describes the numerous entry points where a hack can occur. Kicking off with CAN, the infotainment system, the engine control unit (ECU), and more.”
“As cars become more connected and contain more software than ever, their vulnerabilities are being publicly exposed, often to the fine embarrassment of automakers. Craig Smith’s excellent, detailed book lifts the lid on all the major threat vectors in the vehicle, with fine technical depth. For anyone interested in security and the modern vehicle, or whose job depends on these areas, there is simply no better book out there!”
—Andrew Brown, Strategy Analytics, Executive Director of Enterprise and IoT Research
“The Car Hacker’s Handbook is useful, insightful, and brimming with pragmatic advice. Very recommended to those in the automotive and security industries.”
—Prof. Christof Ebert, Vector Consulting Services
One of Opensource.com‘s “Hot open source books” of 2016!
“Easily the best book I have ever found for learning about how to use a CAN bus. I would recommend this book for engineers working with embedded systems, even if they do not work with cars. I give this book five out of Five.”
“A useful resource for cybersecurity experts.”
Page Nineteen Under the Extended Packets heading, the line:
“. it won’t break if another packet transmits extended CAN packets. “
“. it won’t break if another sensor transmits extended CAN packets. “
Page 55 should have a note added to the end of the penultimate paragraph:
. instead of the positive + 0x40 response). You can send a request to 0x7DF and it should generate a response from all listening ECUs. This response value will be anything from 0x7E8 to 0x7EF. If you want to address just one ECU directly, you subtract eight from the response value; for example, if you see a response of 0x7E8 you can use 0x7E0 to query only that ECU.