On Fri, Apr 21, 2000 at 11:49:51AM -0700, Kerry L. Bonin wrote:
>
> I plan on removing and reverse engineering mine in the near future, would
> like to know what others have done as well before I start
Whilst this would be interesting, one can be very sure that the
firmware in the Onstar unit allows the control center to poll it for GPS
position via a cell call or cellular packet data regardless of whether
the OnStar button is pushed or the airbag has deployed or whatever. Such
a feature would be required to locate a stolen vehicle. And it probably
is possible to poll a vehicle with the engine and ignition off - I suppose
this is the key thing to find out from reverse engineering...
What this means, of course, is that access to the exact location
of an Onstar equipped vehicle is probably entirely determined by the
policies and integrity of the Onstar control centers and software - if
they decide to let a nosey cop locate your car without telling you or
having any kind of warrent or other lawful authorization they can and
you will never know it happened. And more significant, of course, if
there is a security problem or integrity problem with their operations
many other individuals or groups such as private investigators working
for divorce lawyers and the like may be able to get this information via
the usual dishonest and bribable employees (where PI's get much of their
info such as bank and toll records).
Of course much the same issue exists for cell phones with the
new E-911 emergency call location systems - the cell carrier will be
able to track anyone they want with a powered cellphone in real time.
It is true that the cell carriers are regulated by federal law in
respect to what they can reveal without your permission about your
position and movements, whilst you probably could be considered to have
given Onstar permission to determine this and perhaps do what they want
with it by virtue of signing up for the service.
--
Dave Emery N1PRE, [EMAIL PROTECTED] DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass.
PGP fingerprint = 2047/4D7B08D1 DE 6E E1 CC 1F 1D 96 E2 5D 27 BD B0 24 88 C3 18
