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Hacker reveals OnStar weakness can unlock and start GM car

Samy Kamkar said he has contacted GM and OnStar and the companies are "actively working to resolve the issue."

By Ben Hooper
Samy Kamkar shows off how his "OwnStar" device can locate, unlock and remote start any vehicle with the OnStar RemoteLink service installed. Samy Kamkar/YouTube video screenshot
Samy Kamkar shows off how his "OwnStar" device can locate, unlock and remote start any vehicle with the OnStar RemoteLink service installed. Samy Kamkar/YouTube video screenshot

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LOS ANGELES, July 31 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles hacker shared a video online showing how he can use a device to locate, unlock and remote start vehicles with the OnStar system installed.

Samy Kamkar's latest "Applied Hacking" video on YouTube shows how a hacker using a device called "OwnStar" can locate, unlock and remote start a vehicle with the OnStar RemoteLink service after intercepting communications between the owner's OnStar cellphone app and the OnStar service.

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GM, which markets vehicles with OnStar system previously installed, and OnStar are "actively working to resolve this issue," Kamkar wrote in the video's description.

Kamkar said he will release further details about the device and how it works at the upcoming Defcon security conference.

A video released on YouTube earlier this month featured hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek taking control of reporter Andy Greenberg's Jeep remotely using a security flaw in the vehicle's Uconnect Internet-enabled software. The video led Jeep to recall about 1.4 million vehicles.

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