HOSE AS 4437880 - Caterpillar

Caterpillar Products: with Electronic Control Modules that Use Flash Programming
AllThe Caterpillar Electronics organization has frequently been asked about the possibility that machine electronic control modules and engine electronic control modules (ECM) might become corrupted by computer viruses. Customers want to know if the following PC-based service tools could corrupt an Electronic Control Module:
Caterpillar Electronic Technician (ET)
VIMSPCIn order to determine whether corrupted PC-based service tools pose a risk to Caterpillar products, an investigation has been conducted. The processes that were investigated were the ECM Flash File process and the PC virus attachment methods. This investigation has determined that there is virtually no possibility that an infected Flash File will be executed by an ECM. This is due to the encryption/checksum process. The encryption/checksum process has been developed in order to protect the ECM Flash File.If an ECM Flash File is infected prior to installation, the corrupted file will cause the ECM to flag the new Flash File. The ECM will not execute the installed software. If the PC-based service tool is the source of the infection and the Flash File is corrupted during installation, the ECM will again identify the corrupted file. The ECM will not execute the infected software.