Fiat Chrysler Issues Recall For Software Update

The recall came after cybersecurity experts Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek remotely commandeered a Jeep Cherokee to demonstrate the vulnerability of the vehicles’ electronic systems.

FCA said today that the recall “aligns with an ongoing software distribution that insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation, which, if unauthorized, constitutes criminal action”.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs from model years 2014 and 2015 and 2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes, are among the recalled vehicles.

Their code is an automaker’s nightmare: software that lets hackers send commands through the Jeep’s entertainment system to its dashboard functions, steering, brakes and transmission, all from a laptop that may be across the country.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) plans to open up an investigation to determine if whether Fiat Chrysler’s solution proves effective.

NHTSA encouraged people to get the repairs done as soon as possible and said the recall is the right step to protect customers.

The FCA already distributed a software update for the vehicles affected by the hack to counter the vulnerability, uncovered by the hackers.

After the vulnerability was uncovered on Tuesday, Chrysler offered a software upgrade that it recommended customers install “at their earliest convenience”.

Fiat Chrysler is recalling 1.4 million vehicles to prevent cyber security flaw.

Miller and Valasek estimate as many as 471,000 vehicles, including Jeeps using Fiat-Chrysler’s Uconnect system, could be vulnerable. Thankfully, this was only research – Chrysler says there have been no reported incidents of a auto hacking beyond the demonstration.

The company said that it is in unaware of any injuries related to what it calls “the software exploitation”. If so, Chrysler will mail you a USB drive that lets you update your car’s software and that provides “additional security features”, although the company hasn’t elaborated on what those are exactly. Such a report is one of its kind to raise the concerns about the safety prospect of the Internet-enabled vehicles, which the leading automakers are aggressively developing.

Officials stressed that the security of Fiat Chrysler customers is a top priority, as is retaining their confidence in the company’s products.