EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
We’ve all heard stories about assassins who’ve used car bombs. But soon enough, assassins will be relying on computers and code, according to security experts.
A couple years ago, two men demonstrated with their computer that they could access the steering, brakes, and transmission of a Jeep from a remote location and take control of the car. Since then, other cars have proven to be vulnerable. Fortunately, only hackers on the side of Good have exploited these weaknesses.
But as more connected features are introduced, the complexity of technology increases potential points of entry and attack. As a point of reference, the Chevy Volt had 10 million lines of code just seven years ago. Today, cars have 100 million lines of code. And, experts believe that number will double before too long.
Now, just as technology companies are shoring up their cyber fronts, so are car manufacturers–paying hackers who let them know about flaws in their systems. And with that, auto makers are now hot to hire cyber researchers and white hat hackers. Their concern: “Any part of the car that talks to the outside world is a potential inroad for attackers.”