Fiat Chrysler Recalls 1.4M Vehicles Over Hacking Concerns

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced a recall for 1.4 million vehicles over concerns with cyber security.

A software update that will implement new safety features in the 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment system will be administered to the applicable vehicles through a USB device.

This update was already part of a technical service bulletin issued by the automaker, but that fix was initially voluntary. According to The Detroit News, FCA was under pressure from the government to make the fix mandatory, which lead to the recall.

Despite this, FCA says that “no defect has been found. FCA US is conducting this campaign out of an abundance of caution.”

A recent report from Wired detailed how two hackers were able to remotely control many functions of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee, even causing it to drive into a ditch. FCA worked with these two hackers to develop the updated security measures.

SEE ALSO: Jeep Hack Leads FCA to Offer Software Update

In addition to the added security in each vehicle, FCA took a few steps to prove the organization takes hacking seriously. “FCA US has applied network-level security measures to prevent the type of remote manipulation demonstrated in a recent media report. These measures – which required no customer or dealer actions – block remote access to certain vehicle systems and were fully tested and implemented within the cellular network on July 23, 2015.”

A new system quality engineering team has also been established to focus on connectivity and safety.

FCA owners can go to www.driveuconnect.com/software-update/ to see if they are affected by the recall.

The list of possibly affected vehicles include: