Nice hackers have proven bad hackers can seize control of your vehicle anytime they want to, according to a report this week in PC World and Wired Magazine.
Good geeks Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek tested it out already on a Jeep Cherokee, and they say they were able to access all its vital systems, including braking and acceleration, just by using their hacker skills, an internet connection and a laptop.
Before crashing the Jeep, however, they were also able to interfere with the normal operation of the audio system, air conditioning, dashboard, and even the transmission -- not exactly an inexpensive repair, that one -- from 10 miles away.
The major flaw that could now allow evil hackers to seize control of your computer-regulated vehicle from afar for nefarious purposes apparently lies in its network connectivity. In Chrysler’s case called “Uconnection” which operates via Sprint
Suffice to say that kind of security breach can have some very deadly consequences.
The do-good duo has presented their dire findings to manufacturers so computer ‘patches’ can be installed to override the weak-coding issue, either by you yourself downloading the fix, or your car dealer.
Unfortunately, though, about a half-million such autos are presently on the road, Miller and Valasek estimate.
Eponymous Rox
