Hackers control cars by attacking 'fragile' ECUs

Researchers in the US have shown that the ECUs which manage the electrical functions of a modern car are highly susceptible to hackers.

The team from the Center for Automotive Embedded Systems Security discovered the computerised control systems were easy to disrupt if malicious software was introduced via a car's standard communication port.

The study was intended to establish the level of resilience offered by the current generation of ECUs, but the researchers found that they could exert an enormous amount of control over a car's major components – including the brakes, door locks, instrument panel and lights.