Modern cars have dozens of computer systems that monitor and control various aspects of the vehicle. The researchers have found that they can exploit these systems and override their programming to perform such malicious acts as disabling the brakes and door locks. This comes only a few weeks after University of South Carolina and Rutgers researchers figured out how to hack car tire pressure sensors. Both teams of researchers used custom-built electronics and extensive programming to breach the cars' systems.
While the USC/Rutgers hacks were accomplished with a radio transmitter, most of the hacks from UW/UCSD required a physical connection to the car, through the government-mandated electronic diagnostics port normally found under the dashboard. The researchers had to plug their laptop into the port to accomplish the hacks, meaning there's little risk of a malicious party remotely cutting your brakes with a computer. The proliferation of car-based wireless services could change that in the future.
Image credit: Technology Review
