“If your laptop crashes you’ll have a bad day, but if your car crashes that could be life threatening,” said Bruce Snell, a McAfee executive. “I don’t think people need to panic now. But the future is really scary,” he added. In 2010, a group of U.S. computer scientists conducted a study that revealed how viruses could indeed damage cars. They also identified ways as to how computer worms and Trojans are transmitted to automobiles, either via on-board diagnostics systems, wireless connections and even tainted CDs played on radios systems.
However, they did not mention which car company specifically had the vulnerability. On the other hand, Ford said that the car company has already assigned security engineers to make its sync in-vehicle communications and entertainment system as resistant as possible to attacks. Meanwhile, top automakers Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai declined to comment about any security vulnerability on its cars. “They’re basically designed to change coding constantly. I won’t say it’s impossible to hack, but it’s pretty close,” said John Hanson, a Toyota spokesperson.