Hackers Take Control of a Moving Car

In a disconcerting experiment, two DARPA security experts, Chris Valasek, the director of security intelligence for IOActiv and Charlie Miller, a security engineer for Twitter proved how easily they could hack into a car.

Cars like the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape have dozens of onboard computers-- if the right coder gains access to them, it could be disastrous for the driver, as the pair proved in a video for Forbes. Miller and Valasek's work assumed physical access to the cars' computers, but it has certainly been proven before that it is possible to access a car's computers wirelessly through something like the Onstar connection, bluetooth, synced mobile apps, or even a malicious audio file on a CD in the car's stereo system.

Kim Horcher and Tim Frisch discuss the findings and the implications of the experiment.

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TAGS: Hacked Car, Hack Car, Can a Car be Hacked, DARPA Car Hack, Hack Car Computers, Digital carjackers, What Happens When a Car is Hacked, Car Hacked Into

[dubbud]

Eric they said you can do it without breaking in i'm sure

[thirentpx]

This is why I drive a 1977 Chevy with a manual transmission....Goodluck trying to hack that lol

[Trifler]

You don't even have to do that. The keyless entry can remain as-is as long as it doesn't connect with the car's system computers.

[peterdadaw]

if someone did this to me they would never be on the internet again

[melverine]

They already have remote shut off for high end cars. It was only a matter of time before somebody figured out how to hack into it.

[demonac]

That was no car accident. He died in a CAR INTENTIONAL.

[insect]

I think that they should start putting manual overrides in cars.

[KpopNiDontStop]

in Korea they actually have black box's for cars.

[bibleboy]

My Prius has some drama. Like sometimes it doesn't start if the radio and ac were left on when last parked. Also, the vents will waft whatever temperature air you last set it on, even if the AC is turned off. Plus it once showed I had a half tank when it was actually almost full. Plus that push thingy on the door doesn't always lock the car on the first try. Anyone else have this problem?

[SolariEcho]

Why is the computer even linked to control the steering wheel? That shouldn't even be there.

[interuniversal]

Unless you have a genuine accident, which is more likely in an older car and less likely to be survivable, but fair point.

[toosinbeymen]

I saw this Forbes video a few days ago and wow is it scary. I hope they devise some way to determine if a car was hacked or not and who did it. If not, we need to stop buying any new cars immediately.

[xxxxxrandom]

Failing to identify a small electronic devices function and purpose in a wreck of broken materials seems entirely too probable. Especially if the possibility of car hacking is not specifically searched for and at least for now I think it is not.

[Ibushi]

Anybody know the model of Hastings car and what was in it?

[EthanNin]

Is there any way to tell if a car has been hacked? like a blackbox, or a record on the computer or something?

[valordragoon]

and this is why I will NEVER own a modern car and stick with older cars.
Have to wonder if there is away to get rid of those extra things in a car?

[Henbot]

well because companies in America can disable them if they stolen or if the authority asks them

[jonjones]

electronic keys have all the info in them already

[AlexC]

Depends on your driving and the conditions too, but it's still better having an accident than being "accidented", right?

[Trifler]

Simple fix: Keep the car's system computers (engine, dash, etc.) independent of the wi-fi.