There was a rather disturbing report on the radio, heard naturally driving home when one can reasonably expect to be able to divide one's attention to an extent, confident that one's car is reliabily able to behave within certain parameters, regarding the very real eventuality that highly computerized modern cars, swarming in some cases to the beginnings of a network or at least integrated with accessories normally associated with networks, are quite vulnerable to digital sabotage.
This awareness and pushing the possibilities has not shown itself as something malicious, but has rather grown from the frustration of hobbyists and independent mechanics, restricted any administrative rights to their own cars, without the expensive intervention of a factory-authorized workshop. Hacks and back-door methods (all variety of strange tricks built into sub-systems for the programmer and technicians to pry into a car, figuratively, like clicking the door-opener in a certain sequence—sort of like the control tone of an automatic telephone dialer or the squeltch of a modem) are widely circulated among enthusiasts, and could be easily turned towards more sinister purposes. Doors could be made to only appear to lock, breaks could be made to fail on command. The possibilities are really frightening and limitless, considering how most people feel fairly secure and self-sufficient behind the wheel, and a computer virus disabling productivity and entertainment is one thing, but it is certainly another matter considering how a similiar infestation, not viruses but gremlins in this case, I guess, could manifest as something physical, hulking and deadly. The reporters even made a practical exercise of what they learned with the help of some experts and learned how easy it was to inobtrusively break into a car and rewire the settings. They were not yet quite able to remotely control the vehicle via cellular phone, but that scenario of marshalling zombie fleets may not be so far off.
