Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/873209
24 | Overdrive | September 2017 HACKING TRUCKS Ohio toward Erie, Pennsylvania, his Omnitracs MCP50 onboard unit began switching log statuses erratically and flickering on and off. "My dashboard started popping all kinds of engine and re-gen codes," Guenther says. "The truck then de- rated" slightly, but he was many miles away from a good place to get service or even pull off. Guenther called the shop that had just worked on the truck and was referred to Omnitracs, where a tech-support repre- sentative recommended a forced reboot. "He told me, 'It's going to shut down and reboot five times in a row,' " with about 10 seconds between each reboot, he says. "I'm still going 60 mph trying to keep it going. So he does that, and when the MCP50 shut down, so did my engine. It did that five times." The representative, when told what was happening, said, "This doesn't nor- mally happen." "We don't have another documented case like this," says Scott Hildebrandt, Omnitracs' vice president of support and customer experience, who reviewed Guenther's experience. "We definitely see the unit reset and see the unit come back up, but we can't prove or disprove anything that happened out there." Guenther says moisture could have caused his problems. "I've got an issue with water getting into my harness plug [on occasion] that kicks off a slew of dif- ferent codes." Asked about Guenther's case, Cory Hunt of Pivot Technology Resources, a remanufacturer and reseller of used ELDs, says he's heard of similar cases. "When you're tying into the data con- nectors and some of the wiring in these trucks, they're all integrated into the functionality of the trucks themselves," Hunt says. "I've seen it where the onboard unit won't even let the truck shut off," even with the ignition key removed. In such cases, the truck won't power down without powering down the onboard communications device. "I've seen some really crazy things over the last 17 years," he says. "They're funny to hear," but scary if you're the victim. While such instances are rare, they sug- gest that ensuring the integrity of your truck's electronic system will be doubly important when plugging in any IoT device, including an ELD, Hunt says. A company such as Omnitracs has a large security staff, Reynolds says – like- wise the capability of over-the-air software updates, enabling quick protection against malware and hackers. "When you select the IoT device, make sure it was engi- neered with security in mind," she says. ELD suppliers say the probability of hacking into electronic logs either the current automatic onboard record- ing device standard (Code of Federal Regulations 395.15) or the new ELD standard (CFR 395.16) to access the controller area network (CAN) bus of vehicles is virtually impossible, as ELDs are provisioned only to read data. "We don't give (our application) rights to be able to write or make requests," says Marco Encinas, marketing and product manager for Teletrac Navman, which offers the Director ELD. "All we do is read. There is no protocol in the system that allows us to engage, change code for or manipulate the ECM com- puter on the vehicle." Encinas says he's seen glitches like those experienced by Guenther. "The dashboard starts lighting up" and indi- cating fault codes and the like, he says, but things return to normal when the onboard unit is unplugged. He says it's a result of an "incompatibility between the protocol we're reading and the pro- To access a Geotab-produced white paper on IoT device security in vehicles, search "Preserving Privacy and Security in the Connected Vehicle" at Geotab.com. No ELD on the market is foolproof. If any hardware, software or connection malfunction – or possibly a hacker – impedes the ELD's operation, FMCSA's 395.16 rule requires that the device report the error to both the driver and fleet management to trigger support activities. Navistar's OnCommand Connection telematics device continuously monitors the truck's health status, which includes electronics, Andrew Dondlinger says. "In the event of a detected malfunction on the truck, OnCommand Connection will provide the customer – and Navistar as well – with a health report highlighting the faults on the truck, along with a fault code action plan," Dondlinger says. Similarly, if a malfunction is detected by Teletrac Navman's Director ELD ap- plication, the device continues to record any vehicle data that it can, as well as the driver's duty status. The driver is alerted by a fault message indicator, and fleet management is alerted through the web portal to notify dispatchers. Teletrac Navman's support team can do an over-the-air reset if needed, Marco Encinas says. – Aaron Huff HOW ELDS TYPICALLY REPORT MALFUNCTIONS How concerned are you about cybersecurity with respect to electronic logging devices? Source: OverdriveOnline.com poll Very concerned 56% Unsure 6% Not concerned 24% A little concerned 14%