Can a hacker stop your car or your heart? Security and the Internet of Things

Our life is so consumed by technology that we may not even know all of the debilitating effects that could come of our cyberspace being attacked. Even something as innocent as you electronic car door locks could be compromised. Just think about it, we never really stop to think how heavily controlled our vehicles are on technology. Many of a vehicle’s fundamental elements– including the engine and brake control modules – are now electronically controlled. Researchers at the University of Washington were able to hack into and essentially control a highly computerized vehicle. Shockingly, the privacy of the inhabitants of the vehicle were compormised by listening in on their conversations; seeing as vehicles now have a feature where you can make phone calls from the car system. What is most frightening however, is the researchers were able to disable brake and lighting systems and brought the car to a complete stop on a simulated major highway. The group systematically and completely overtook control of the vehicle. Cybersecurity is needed now, more than ever in this ever-increasing digital age. Of course, technology has its strong suits, but the security and privacy implications or lack thereof, should not be ignored. There needs to be a concerted effort to improve security of future devices. Without increased security, the effects would be daunting! So let's all make a concerted effort to do what we can to secure our cyberspace; even if that means simply educating others.

Written by Bria White, a Homeland Security Graduate Assistant for the University of the District of Columbia.

http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20141215-can-a-hacker-stop-your-car-or-your-heart-security-and-the-internet-of-things?page=0,0

Source of Article: Temitope Oluwafemi is Ph.D. Student in Electrical Engineering at University of Washington. This story is published courtesy of  The Conversation (under Creative Commons-Attribution/No derivatives).