Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

IoT Security

Tesla Infotainment Hack Earns Researchers $100,000 at Pwn2Own Automotive

Over $1 million paid out in the first two days of Pwn2Own Automotive for Tesla, infotainment and EV charger hacks.

Pwn2Own Automotive

Day two of the Zero Day Initiative’s Pwn2Own Automotive hacking contest has come to an end, with participants earning a total of over $300,000 for exploits targeting infotainment systems, EV chargers, and a Tesla.

Pwn2Own Automotive is taking place these days alongside the Automotive World conference in Tokyo, Japan. The total paid out to participants in the first two days of the event totals more than $1 million, ZDI announced

The Synacktiv team is in the lead, earning $430,000 for their exploits. Nearly half of the amount was earned for exploits targeting Tesla cars. On the first day, the researchers got $100,000 for hacking the Tesla modem and on the second day they received another $100,000 for hacking the Tesla infotainment system. 

The same team also earned $35,000 for hacking Automotive Grade Linux in the operating system category using a three-bug exploit chain. 

The other prizes earned on the second day are smaller. Phoenix Contact, ChargePoint, Autel and JuiceBox EV charger exploits earned $30,000 each.

Prizes of $20,000 were awarded to participants for Alpine infotainment system hacks and a partially successful Autel EV charger exploit. 

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Bounties ranging between $10,000 and $15,000 were awarded for partially successful EV charger and infotainment exploits. These exploits involved vulnerabilities that were previously known.

For the last day of Pwn2Own Automotive, there are seven EV charger and two infotainment system hacking attempts scheduled.

This is the first edition of the automotive-focused Pwn2Own. ZDI shared some interesting details about the event with SecurityWeek in October. 

Related: Hackers Earn $180,000 for ICS Exploits at Pwn2Own Miami 2023

Related: VMware Patches Critical Vulnerability Disclosed at Pwn2Own Hacking Contest

Related: Over $1 Million Offered at New Pwn2Own Automotive Hacking Contest

Written By

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is senior managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher before starting a career in journalism in 2011. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing for the latest cybersecurity threats, trends, and expert insights.

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Today’s attackers are no longer breaking in — they’re logging in. Join this live webinar as we break down the modern identity attack chain and examine how recent breaches exploited weaknesses in authentication, identity verification, and access management processes.

Register

AI has accelerated both sides of the fight. Adversaries are weaponizing vulnerabilities faster, while defenders are racing to ship detections and configurations. Join this live webinar as we explore how to prove your controls actually hold against new threats, map your security maturity, and unite breach simulation with automated pentesting into a single, coordinated program.

Register

People on the Move

Stephen Garcia has been named Chief Information Security Officer at BreachRx.

Kasper Lindgaard has been appointed Vice President of Security Strategy at CoreView.

Chaim Mazal has been named Chief Information Security Officer at GitLab.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.