Car-hacking: auto virus threat

Your car's computer could be a target for hackers, with frightening consequences, writes Barry Park.

Hackers may soon be able to attack your car as easily as they can infiltrate your home computer. At some stage, most people will have had a virus infect their computer, either creating a nuisance until it is cleaned up by software, or causing a catastrophe that renders the computer little more than a giant paperweight.

Researchers are warning the same fate could now befall your vehicle. Cars are increasingly becoming an extension of the home. That's no bad thing when we spend so much time in them but it also means the little niggles that we get at home are sometimes just as relevant on four wheels.

Software glitches aside, there's also the very real possibility that your car's computer-controlled operating systems can be "hacked".

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