Hacked and trailers: a demonstration made clear how vulnerable they are

On October 24, the National Freight Vehicle Traffic Association (NMFTA) organized a wireless hacking demonstration to exemplify how someone could take advantage of the vulnerabilities of cargo trailers and trailers.

At its Cybersecurity Digital Solutions Conference, NMFTA provided a demonstration for the event with a United Petroleum Transports tanker truck that was located several blocks from the main conference site. Ben Gardiner, senior cybersecurity research engineer at NMFTA, who carried out the demonstration, said the hack was performed using a relatively inexpensive setup.

The hacking attempt carried out by Gardiner focused on the trailer brakes, allowing audible information to be obtained that the objective had been achieved. The trailer brakes began making a regular, high-pitched sound shortly after the hack began as they discharged their pneumatic air supply.

He also pointed out that the hack used the trailer’s electrical network, which functions as a wireless interface despite not having been designed for it. This means that a hacker could attack a truck wirelessly without using obvious methods such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Gardiner explained at the conference that for the demonstration a very simple antenna was used and cables were attached to nearby traffic cones, in order to carry out the attack on the tractor-trailer with the help of a 50-volt power amplifier that It ran at a power of around 15 W. This hack had an estimated cost of $300, demonstrating how simple it can be to carry out in real life.