Israeli companies have developed and are selling advanced cyber tools that can hack into the tech of your car and use it to collect intelligence on you.
Three years ago, Haaretz revealed the existence of the offensive cyber intelligence company Toka, which was co-founded by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and a former Israel Defense Forces cyber chief, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Yaron Rosen. The firm specialized in hacking into security cameras, but as documents obtained by Haaretz at the time revealed, Toka also had a product called CARINT that fused camera data with data linked to cars.
At the time, the industry was in its infancy. But industry sources say that Toka has since expanded its offering on cars. It has developed and even sold a product capable of hacking into a specific vehicle’s multimedia systems, pinpointing its location and tracking its movements; that is, a specific model by a specific manufacturer. The technology can even remotely access the microphone of the vehicle’s hands-free system, allowing eavesdropping on the driver, and even tap into cameras installed on the dashboard or around the car.
I feel your pain. It’s nearly impossible now to buy a disconnected car, and over time, pre-connectivity cars will become old and less reliable.
Which is getting harder on some models of hatchback where it’s difficult to see out the rear window. My car is like that. My old car was a 4 dr sedan and you could easily see behind. In my new car I would not feel safe backing up without the camera due to how bad the rear visibility is. Especially in parking lots with the risk that a child below window level had run out from somewhere into my blind spot. That’s what keeps me tethered to my backup camera - the fear of hitting another person I couldn’t see. Otherwise I would do exactly what you are doing.
I bike whenever I can, but sometimes, I must drive.
Another problem is that on some newer cars, the “little snitch” part of the car is the same subsystem as other features of the car you need, like the directional blinkers. You rip out the snitching part, and you also lose safety features you need legally and ethically.
I hate this. All of this. I hate that the default for so many devices now, not just cars, is surveillance.
I know it’s nontrivial, but kit cars are a thing. If they won’t make the car you want, build it.
Please verify the process to make it street legal before buying the kit, though. Don’t want to end up with a car-sized paperweight.