It took Russian hackers a couple of days to identify the component on the ECU and isolate it restoring full function.

One thought after watching tons of real crime TV and being amazed at what look like some stunning judicial travesties:

Should you wind up in an accident and the police/prosecution decide, rightly or wrongly, you're criminally culpable (especially where there may be angry families involved who've lost someone and demand revenge), disconnecting the surveillance system will absolutely be used as evidence of premeditation in the commission of whatever offense is being ginned-up.

Very good information indeed!

My VW owners manual (and other statements online) openly state that telemetry data is stored in multiple modules across the vehicle, and should the vehicle be involved in an incident it is available to authorities and insurers if they request it, although as its a 2018 vehicle without a SIM card or e-call its not sending real time data to VW (they abandoned this even if you connect your mobile phone as it didn't work with LTE and 3G internet is stopped in most countries)

I've been considering if converting a very late model Commodore to EV, is the best why to get a surveillance free EV sedan.

they can get it, but normally only main dealers have proprietary kit to snag *all* the data and many would only use deeper dives into it for something like denying a warranty claim on a car that has been modified against finance agreement terms.

However its not inconceivable that a lot of data *is* sent up to manufacturers during standard services, as the working of the diagnostic tools used is fairly opaque (even the technicians aren't told exactly how they work, just how to use them!)

But many cars in UK fall out of main dealer network servicing after manufacturer warranty expires and are sent to independent garages for servicing..

...as long as it has no tracking devices on board.

i predict antisurveillanceremovehardware

Who might be the one on the hook if I were to sue or file a gdpr request for my data? Are car rentals prepared for that scenario? What about a taxi or Uber driver?

…you'll probably will need to wait another three years for it to drop tho…

@digdilem @funnymonkey

This post is awesome, and I predict aftermarket shops offering to remove car surveillance to spring up in the next few years.

The cars surveilling Ownera and surrounding area should be completely illegal. According to DGVSO it is. But there is no action from EU Commission, why, the data is presumably being fed in to predictive policing systems.

Many German vehicles actually have two modules, one is often behind the steering wheel the other usually in infotainment.

I’m waiting for instructions on how to strip cars of all the unnecessary stuff. This applies to both software and hardware. Cars that are stripped down to the bare essentials.

Get rid of all those “convenience” features… mirrors, windows, central locking, etc.

Or an alternative manufacturer offering an open-source car in the “Tin Lizzy” style, with various basic modules that are compatible with each other—e.g., batteries, motors, chassis, and bodywork. Easy to hack and modify.

Removing my Toyota's two way telemetry was easy, just locate the sharkfin antenna at the rear, open the hatch, reach up to the roof liner trim, rip it open with a gloved hand with about 5 kilograms of force, and yank the four skinny wires from the antenna. Push the liner back up into the plastic locks. Only the satellite radio and the driver call assist or whatever they call it were affected, neither I have ever used. That took care of all transmitter. GPS antenna for navigation is in the middle of the top dash panel and is only receive and won't be broadcasted through the sharkfin antenna anymore.

Total time, about a minute. Zero broadcasts from the car. Except for the tire's TPMS sensor codes, Bluetooth MAC, etc. Those can be eliminated too, depending what your level of stealth desires.