Hackers putting drivers at risk while behind the wheel

Hartford, CT (WFSB) — Those who have cars built in the last decade might not actually be in the driver’s seat.

Hackers have figured out how to take over and it is a frightening proposition.

Cyber researchers from Kaprica Security showed the Eyewitness News I-Team how vulnerable cars are to hackers.

By just touching a few buttons on a laptop, hackers are able to disable the brakes in a vehicle.

They can even remotely honk the horn without being inside of the vehicle, and control the speed of the windshield wipers.

Drivers could lose all control.

“As we add more gizmos and electronics and ways that our cars interact with us our phones and the internet, we open up more ways for attackers to break into those cars,” said Hudson Thrift, chief operating officer of Kaprica Security.

Doug Britton, of Kaprica Security, said highways haven’t yet been jammed full of cars that may have been shut down by attackers.

But, in the future, Quinnipiac University Professor Brian Kelly said he thinks in the next five years the cases of hacking will grow.

“You’re starting with researchers and hobbyist now. And as that research becomes more widely available, you know the bad guys will start to pick up on that,” Kelly said.

The hackers can get into the car’s computer systems using the vehicle’s Bluetooth or wireless hotspots that come factory-installed.

“You take all of the systems in your car, they’re all being run by an operating system. And as long as that hacker has control of that operating system, they can manipulate those features,” Kelly said.

This is something that makes drivers, such as Annie Dillon of Wethersfield, nervous.

“It’s hard to believe, it’s pretty scary,” Dillon said.

Beyond the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi systems, the federal government has expressed concerns over the tracking systems that some cars have, that transmit information about the vehicle’s driving history from the car to the automaker, wirelessly.

“Some cars are sending signals. Some cars are receiving signals. But anytime a car is sending or receiving those signals, its opens up opportunities for attackers to get in,” Thrift said.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and other lawmakers are pushing the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to develop federal guidelines to protect against a potential hack, to make sure that any data transmissions are secure.

The Eyewitness News I-Team looked into what could be done in the meantime for drivers to protect themselves.

“Right now there isn’t anything a lay person can do but if we all start talking to our sales people and asking them how I can prevent my car from being compromised, what kinds of features are in my car, then manufacturers will understand the importance of this,” Thrift said.

General Motors, which became the first automaker to put Wi-Fi hotspots in some of its 2015 vehicles, said in a statement that it is “taking a layered approach to in-vehicle cyber security and are designing many vehicle systems so that they can be updated with enhanced security measures as potential threats evolve.”

Ford said in a statement that it invests in security solutions and it is “not aware of any instance in which a Ford vehicle was infiltrated or compromised in the field through a remote hack.”