Hackers Could Exploit Modern Technology to Sabotage Car Systems

As modern-day cars continue their evolution and become more digitized, security researchers around the world continue to warn about the potential dangers of such technology. As many may be aware, self-driving cars are not that far away, but even regular cars are now in danger of being targeted by cyber-criminals, as they evolved into mobile computers.

As cars become more computerized, the potential for disastrous cyber attacks has become a new road hazard https://t.co/0Rd1PZsxHl

— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) January 10, 2020

Simulating Hazards

To demonstrate their potential to become a new road hazard, Israeli security researchers from GuardKnox decided to use a Formula 1 driving simulation. Their demonstration took place recently at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, which took place in Las Vegas over the course of the last three days. The demonstration itself took only mere moments, as one of the GuardKnox cybersecurity researchers managed to take over control of the speeding car’s steering wheel within seconds. As soon as they did so, the car was out of the race, as well as out of the road. However, experts warn that this scenario could become all too real in years to come.

The Danger of Modern Cars

Cars these days are far from what they used to be, as developers started making them with computer chips, mobile technology, sensors, and other tech that is making them more efficient. Unfortunately, these benefits are also flaws, as they can be exploited by online criminals. As mentioned, autonomous cars are especially vulnerable and dangerous, as they communicate in real-time with the cloud, other self-driving cars, and even smart city infrastructures. If hackers were to hijack them, they could easily cause crashes, and even turn the cars into weapons, as GuardKnox’ chief executive, Moshe Shlisel, had demonstrated. Shlisel called it ‘September 11th on wheels,’ which might not be that far from the truth. Connectivity and autonomous cars could lead to safer roads, but the dangers are big enough to have an entirely opposite effect. In other words, cybersecurity is becoming a crucial part of the vehicle industry. Researchers are already reporting hacks of such cars, even though this currently only includes hacking of their software to unlock them and steal them.

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