Insider highlights risk of car technology being hacked
LOS ANGELES - You can’t see his face, and we’ve disguised his voice. This auto industry software developer sounding the alarm about the danger you could face when you buy your next new car.
With cutting-edge technology, he’s helping develop that connects your vehicle to the internet. But that technology as we’ve seen in recent year can be hacked.
In 2015, Wired magazine teamed up with a couple hackers to take over a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. They messed with the music, the a/c and windshield wipers.
Then they exposed a major flaw they killed the engine.
The driver stomped on the gas as the jeep slowed to a crawl. Wired and the hackers say the intention was to alert chrysler and help find a fix, which Chrysler says it did.
Consumer Watchdog says hackers can break in to steal your personal information, steal your car, or even worse…take control of your vehicle.
The non-profit says the consequences could be deadly.
In the new report, 'kill switch', Consumer watchdog outlines the dangers of connected cars. Right now there are 50 million on the road. But starting in 2020, 20 million more connected cars are expected per year.
The Consumer Watchdog report includes disclosures from Tesla, Chrysler, Ford, GM, and BMW admitting that hacks have occurred.
And that it’s possible future hacks could occur. So, the big question is what to do?
Consumer advocates are pushing for a kill switch that lets the drivers disconnect safety critical systems like the brakes, the engine, and the steering from the connected computer.
Experts say the time to talk about this – is now!
Read the full report on Consumer Watchdog.