A " Computer on wheels " is an apt description of the modern automobile. When we take our car in for service the technicians hook up their factory software run work computers with the onboard computers that run all the vehicles functions and they talk to each other and determine what work needs to be done. In many cases, it is just a matter of adjustments that have no need for a man with a spanner. It all happens with data transmission that flows in the cyber world.
Each new car model sees an increase in onboard computer technology and all that is about to go into overdrive with the move towards the self driving car that is already undergoing tests. It will be computers that detect hazards and sense the proximity of other vehicles and it will be computerised navigation devices which will steer the vehicle to where we want it to take us. In place of a human, it will be a computer that sits in the driver's seat.
This week a news item opened a new can of worms that will scare the pants off many people. Some computer teckies demonstrated that it was possible to hack into the computer system of a modern American car from a distance of fifteen kilometres and take control of it's driving functions. This film clip showed guys sitting at a laptop far away turning on the windscreen wipers, activating the radio - and more alarmingly - taking control of the steering and making the car's braking system inoperative.
We are well aware that hackers have penetrated most of the world's cyber security systems. Computer spying is a constant battle between countries trying to not only steal valuable commercial trade secrets but also as weapons of war in the event of a confrontation. We are aware that in the event of a conflict a cyber attack could shut down the national banking system and cripple the distribution of all essential services, such as electricity and communications.
Even our personal computers are not safe. We are advised to be careful not to open emails from unknown sources lest they install spyware that records our passwords and allows external control to shut us out. Cyber bandits them change our passwords and demand a ransom to restore our control and unless this is paid we have permanently lost all the data held in our files.
It will come as a shock to many to even think that a clever hacker can take control of the computers running our car. That seems to be the perfect murder weapon. We imagine driving on a quiet country road when the car speed suddenly increases and we find the steering is not in our control - and the brakes no longer work. At very high speed, the car deliberately crashes into a roadside tree !
It has just been demonstrated - that this is possible. The maker of the vehicle involved has been quick to claim that this was a model only recently available in America and no cars with that level of computer systems have been sold in Australia - but you can be assured that smart cyber criminals are now thinking through the methods they use to hack their way into computers - with cars in mind.
Even if the car you are now driving lacks the sophistication to allow an outside source to take control, a line has been crossed and it is unthinkable that future models will have less computer involvement in running their systems, and it is a proven fact that hackers have managed to evade even the most sophisticated safeguards put in place by sovereign nations to guard the deepest level of national secrets.
Perhaps in the near future all those who fear assassination - both national leaders and the heads of drug crime gangs - will demand vehicles than run on engine systems that lack computer management.
We may see premium prices paid for what mechanics would consider old clunkers in a mechanical sense, but engines which are reliable when maintained by a mechanic with skills learned in a bygone age. It seems that hacking has crossed a deadly boundary !
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