Posted by: @amc72

Is it better to plan if something happens and plan if it doesn't?

My advice is to stop listening to doomsayers and sensationalism. The media and companies like the one you mentioned know that fear sells. They are creating a business out of your unhappiness.

We all die. Make your life worthwhile. Don't spend it worrying about everything that could go wrong. Stop surrounding yourself with things that remind you of death.  

Instead, focus on what makes you happy.

I very much doubt that your 2009 Corolla is connected to the internet. So "cyber attacks" against it are not really possible.

If an EMP should take place, either because of an attack or due to natural causes such as a solar mass ejection, we will be essentially returned to a 19th-century level of technology and that car will be the least of your concerns.

The best defense against an EMP? Mechanical carburetors, magnetos and fuel pumps. Cars from the 70s and before will run like nothing happened. It would cost a fortune to properly harden and shield electronics in a modern car. Some things would probably need a complete design overhaul.

Circuitry that isn't connected to a voltage source isn't vulnerable to an EMP. Fully discharging a modern car's electronics and removing the batterywhen not in use would provide that security. That level of paranoia is a waste of time and energy. 

The only way that you’d experience an EMP is due to a solar event, a nuclear strike, or if a NNEMP generator is used - either way, its a doomsday scenario.

I do not think that a cage around your ECU will “protect it” as your car has a lot of other computers and plenty of wiring.

But if you do want a cage around your ECU, you can just get a regular anti-theft ECU cage - practically it’s the same, and that one is also a reasonably effective thief deterrent.

I guess you don’t plan on buying an EV vehicle or even a new tech-laden ICE vehicle anytime soon, both of which are “computers on wheels”.

In any event, don’t worry about any of that stuff especially on a 2009 Toyota Corolla.  Save your time, money, and focus for something else.

It's interesting reading this exactly same day as I was reading another post somewhere else where someone was asking what year cars to buy so that they have no connection to the internet for any functions out of the fear of their vehicle being hacked. Being concerned to this level whether it's car being hacked or EMP and other cyber attacks means one needs to buy something like the 1981 Mercedes I learned driving with. New cars are literally computers on wheels and they have so many chips, wiring, everything computerized and I think many marketing schemes are taking advantage of this and the fear they (the companies that sell these type of stuff) create in people. Personally I think the last concern of my life would be someone hacking my car or an EMP happening. This whole hacking thing was a huge concern for many people with smartphones, laptops, etc. and while I'm not saying it's not valid to be concerned, but the extreme level of someone is sitting there to hack my device or my car is just not realistic and will create a life of paranoia.

Thanks to everyones replies

Posted by: @fjk

I recently came across a video for a $300 Dollar "Electromagnetic Pulse protector", And I had a question, Is it possible to protect a modern car against this type of event?

Please search the board before posting, this has already been discussed to death. Thank you. (Topics merged.)

As far as that $300 gadget you can bet your sweet bippy that it is a scam that will do nothing but empty your wallet.

The only vehicle I think that's impervious to an electro magnetic pulse would be a diesel tractor with a crank starter that has no electronics at all.

To protect modern vehicles would take a garage sized Faraday cage like a microwave oven.

I recently came across a video for a $300 Dollar "Electromagnetic Pulse protector", And I had a question, Is it possible to protect a modern car against this type of event?