How Software Enabled Volkswagen to Hack Its Cars

Computer hacking has been a problem for as long as computers have been around. No matter how far technology advances, there seems to be a way to penetrate even the most secure programs. Vehicles have come an equally long way, and newer cars rely heavily on computer programs for vehicle diagnostics.

Most people have seen and heard about the incident that shook up the auto industry involving German automaker Volkswagen and how it manipulated computer diagnostics in some of its vehicles. The vehicles were advertised with estimated EPA fuel-efficiency ratings that turned out to be bogus. Consumers who purchased the vehicles were misled, the public was put at risk, and the Environmental Protection Agency was plagued with questions about how easily its emissions testing can be manipulated.

Modernized emissions testing taps into a vehicle’s on-board diagnostic (OBD) system to test for certain conditions that have been shown to increase harmful emissions. If, according to the OBD output, none of these conditions is present, the vehicle successfully passes inspection. Depending on the state, the test is run by analyzing emissions after simulated road conditions are presented. In other instances, a technician accesses the OBD directly, and emissions software reads the OBD data.

Since OBD is nothing more than a software program that communicates like any other computer, it is vulnerable to outside manipulation. It appears that this what happened when Volkswagen deliberately manipulated the system in its vehicles for the sole purpose of circumventing emissions testing standards. Initially, the recall was said to affect only diesel-based engines, but it was recently expanded to include certain gas-powered models, as well.

What Exactly did Volkswagen Do?

In the case of the Volkswagen emissions hack, programmers accessed the vehicle’s diagnostic computer system and coded it in such a way that the vehicle performed differently under testing conditions. During normal operation, the vehicle’s test mode (known as Dyno Mode) was in an idle state, but when connected to emissions testing software, the vehicle would go into “test mode” and reduce emissions to acceptable levels. In essence, the vehicle’s emission system was hacked so that it knew when it was being tested and was programmed to respond accordingly. However, on the road, the vehicles in question were spewing harmful emissions at a much higher rate.

To estimate just how much Volkswagen manipulated emissions systems, EPA testing revealed that emissions were about nine times higher than previous readings before the hack was uncovered. Initially, Volkswagen attempted to shoot down the EPA’s findings while questioning its testing methods. However, the beauty of a computerized system is the fact that it is fairly easy to trace the steps that were taken and whether or not Volkswagen knew what it was doing. It did.

EPA Response

Volkswagen carried on its emissions hack for years before it was thoroughly investigated by the agency. This is not the first time that Volkswagen has been implicated in manipulating vehicles for the sole purpose of dodging emissions standards, as it was fined more than $100,000 in the 1970s for similar emissions manipulation. When news of the hack broke, the EPA issued a public statement asserting that the automaker used “sophisticated software algorithms” to thwart environmental laws and mislead consumers.

The EPA has a limited budget and would need more resources to expand to include real-world testing. Other government agencies have backed the EPA and stepped in to investigate. The FBI is conducting an ongoing investigations related to Volkswagen.

Meanwhile Volkswagen faces billions of dollars in fines, and possible criminal and civil liability. In addition, it is considering firing or laterally shifting executives. The company issued a nationwide recall affecting hundreds of thousands of vehicles that will cost it billions as it undertakes complex repairs and reinstall emissions software.

Going Forward

On February 2, 2016, Volkswagen submitted a comprehensive recall plan affecting diesel models manufactured from 2009 to 2015, and it vowed to correct the problem. The plan must be reviewed and approved by the EPA before a formal recall is issued. A similar plan was presented and subsequently rejected by California regulators who stated the plan to fix vehicles was “incomplete.” The repair plans have not yet been made public, so it’s unknown if it is as simple as reprogramming the vehicle’s OBD, installing compliant parts, or a combination of the two.

Meanwhile Volkswagen could face billions of dollars in fines, as well as possible criminal and civil liability. In addition, its CEO could resign.

The recall, which will affect nearly 1 million vehicles in the United States alone and 11 million vehicles worldwide, will cost Volkswagen billions as it performs complex repairs and reinstalls emissions software.

The EPA will keep a close eye on all recall repairs going forward, and the situation could put increased scrutiny on all automakers in the future.