Crossroads Blog | CYBER SECURITY LAW AND POLICY

Cyber Jihad, law enforcement, Privacy, technology

Feds Want Way to Hack Xboxes and Wiis for Evidence: Wired

On April 9th, 2012, Kim Zetter wrote for Wired on how DHS has looked into hacking game consoles "to obtain sensitive information about gamers stored on the devices."  Of course, console gaming systems now store credit card numbers and personal information while allowing users to communicate (and usually insult each other) over chat systems.  Law enforcement could obviously glean a lot from such data.  Interestingly, terrorist groups have reportedly used the video game chat feature to plan terrorist attacks in first person shooting games like Call of Duty; in the context of an online shooting match, no one would think a discussion about explosives is strange.

According to Wired, the U.S. government will only target gaming systems owned by foreigners outside the U.S.

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While we're on the subject of hacking, I noticed a blog post written by Jim Motavalli for Txchnologist.  The blog post explored how Mercedes-Benz released an in-dash computer system for your car that automatically updates itself over 3G and 4G cell networks. 

So, yes, the day is coming (if it hasn't already arrived) when someone will be able to hack your car.  You can imagine the implications for GPS systems, your tunes, or even the car's drivetrain.

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