Car hacking is real and dangerous; protect yourself - Komando

Since the late '60s, cars have had computers in them, and with each passing decade the computers get more powerful. The computers in modern cars also run the steering, traction control, air bags, cruise control, tire management, security, entertainment and more. Until recently, hacking a car's on-board computer to cause chaos was either a theoretical security exercise or a scene in a Hollywood movie. Then in 2013, two hackers named Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek changed everything when they brought it into the real world. While that first demo was scary, it still required hackers to physically connect a laptop to the car's computers and be sitting in the back seat. Everything changed just this month when Miller and Valasek showed off a new way to hack a car from a distance. The hack In their newest demo, which starred a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and Wired's Andy Greenberg as the willing "victim," Miller and Valasek took control of the vehicle from more than 10 miles away. The reason Miller and Valasek were able to do this in 2015, when they couldn't in 2013, is because many cars now include cellular connections. Cellular lets the entertainment system download updates, get navigation information, provide in-car Internet, and more. Source: www.komando.com