ABC: Kill Switch Report Highlights Widespread Hacking Vulnerability of Connected Cars

Consumer Watchdog has issued a report, with the help of car industry technologists, that finds all the top 2020 cars have Internet connections to safety critical systems that leave them vulnerable to fleet wide hacks.

The group and experts warn that a fleet wide hack at rush-hour could result in a 9-11 scale catastrophe with approximately 3,000 deaths.

The report, “Kill Switch: Why Connected Cars Can Be Killing Machines And How To Turn Them Off,” reveals that automakers have disclosed the high risk of such hacks to their investors, but are keeping the public in the dark as they market new features based on Internet connections. For example, Ford disclosed to the Securities Exchange Commission in its 10K filing that the company and its suppliers have been the subject of a malicious hack, but the public is blind to the facts.