Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) is recalling roughly 1.4 million vehicles incorporating radios that are exposed to hacking. The latest decision marks a landmark for the auto-industry, which made a record by recalling 64 million automobiles last year in the US to fix faults.
The company said in a statement that it blocked illegal remote access to some vehicle systems on Thursday with a network-level improvement. Moreover, affected consumers will get a USB device to update the software of their vehicles with internal safety features.
The automaker already got engaged in delivering software to insulate few connected vehicles from unauthorized remote manipulation following a report published by Wired magazine that cited some software programmers who were able to hijack a Jeep Cherokee traveling on a Missouri highway.
Fiat Chrysler restated that it hasn’t heard about any illegal remote hack into any of its automobiles. The company emphasized that no bug was detected and it’s carrying out the operation out of an abundance of caution.
The recall cover roughly one million more vehicles than those primarily recognized as requiring a software patch. The move includes 2015 models of Jeep Cherokee, Ram pickups and Grand Cherokee SUVs, Viper supercars and Dodge Challenger sports coupes.
NHTSA reported that it encouraged the decision to save customers against a susceptibility, which could influence driver’s control. Administrator at NHTSA, Mark Rosekind said on Friday that announcing a recall is the right measure to safeguard customers of Fiat Chrysler, and it sets an important example for how the industry and NHTSA will react to cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The company’s UConnect infotainment system incorporate wireless network of Sprint Corp. A spokeswoman at Sprint, Stephanie Vinge Walsh said that this is not a Sprint problem, though the company has been collaborating with Chrysler to assist them in further securing their vehicles.
