A cybersecurity expert discovered an undocumented feature in the Waymo app that enabled her to showcase any text she desired on the top display of the robotaxi.
Jane Manchun Wong, a prominent cybersecurity researcher, shared a photo on X this past Saturday, featuring the upper display of a Waymo vehicle—referred to as the “dome”—which displayed her X username alongside various characters.
“I managed to hack my Waymo to show some unusual texts, including an empty string, ‘wongmjane,’ and even emojis as the Car ID. Please don’t ban me or fix this @waymo lol,” she commented.
Wong, who resides in San Francisco, informed TechCrunch that she was able to alter the characters on the self-driving Jaguar I-Pace dome by experimenting with the Waymo mobile application on her Android device while waiting for the robotaxi to arrive.
“It’s the classic fun of experimenting with the Waymo mobile app. Their servers likely didn’t validate the input for the Car ID from anyone outside the company,” Wong explained. “There was no ‘jailbreaking’ or ‘rooting’ involved. I simply modified the Car ID to accept something that it typically would reject. It seems pretty harmless, I guess.”
Despite her lighthearted remarks, it appears that Waymo has since updated its application to prevent users from making similar alterations to the dome, as Wong noted on Tuesday that she could no longer change the Car ID.
Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp verified that Wong had discovered a hidden feature and confirmed that it has been disabled for regular users like her.
“Jane uncovered an unreleased feature due to her advanced knowledge of Android,” Karp told TechCrunch. “We have restricted access to the dome display functionalities.”
In 2020, Waymo introduced moving LEDs to its dome, stating that it would help riders identify their vehicle both day and night, especially when there are multiple Waymo vehicles parked together.
The dome is also designed to signal to pedestrians that the vehicle is yielding or to cyclists that a passenger is about to open the door. Additionally, the display has been used for promotional purposes.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
Fanpage: TechArena.au
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