Jeep/Fiat has been sued by a putative class alleging that they were harmed as a result of researchers’ ability to hack into a Jeep and take control of it. Jeep/Fiat filed a motion to dismiss, stating that the owners suffered no harm.

The Jeep/Fiat owners have fired back stating that they have been harmed because they overpaid for the vehicles which had faulty security, that they never would have purchased the vehicles had they known about the defect, and the resale demand and value has been diminished because of the revelations. They also argued during a motion to dismiss that the security defect of the vehicles could allow criminals to hack into their cars’ electrical systems. Finally, they also allege that they don’t need to show that the vehicles were actually hacked to be successful in their claims.

Jeep/Fiat alleges that the plaintiffs have suffered no harm, and that the suit is based on speculation, and therefore, the case should be dismissed.

On an opposite note, General Motors (GM) got ahead of the curve when it solicited help through a public disclosure program to find out about any vulnerabilities in its cars and is using those reports to learn about and fix any vulnerabilities.

GM invited computer researchers to try to hack its vehicles as part of a bug bounty program, although GM did not pay for any of the information from the hackers. GM will use the information to patch any security issues found through the bug bounty program.