Spanish researchers reveal $20 device capable of disabling critical car functions

A group of Spanish security researchers have revealed a $20 device that can cause vital functions of a car to be disabled if physically connected to a car.
While many car hacking techniques have been demonstrated, it seems that this device has the potential to be particularly dangerous and is especially cheap to build.

If physically connected to a vehicle, the device can interfere with a car’s onboard Controller Area Network, or CAN bus, that coordinates and operates everything from windows to headlines and brakes to power steering.

When the device, which is smaller than a smartphone, is attached to a car’s electrical systems and the CAN bus via four wires, attack commands can be input over Bluetooth, according to Future Tense.

Javier Vazquez-Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera call the device the deviCAN Hacking Tool, or CHT.