10 years of Dieselgate
Felix Domke, Karsten Burger
39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3): Power Cycles · Day 3 · Saal One
A decade after the initial "Dieselgate" scandal rocked the automotive industry, security researchers Felix Domke and Karsten Burger revisit the pervasive issue of **defeat devices** in vehicle emission control systems. Their talk, "10 years of Dieselgate," delivered at 39C3, delves into the intricate technical mechanisms manufacturers employ to circumvent emissions regulations, revealing that Volkswagen's actions were not an isolated incident but rather indicative of a systemic problem across the industry. This presentation offers a deep technical dive into various **Engine Control Unit (ECU)** firmware implementations, showcasing how vehicles are programmed to exhibit vastly different emission behaviors during laboratory testing compared to real-world driving.