Like it or not, new cars are filled with computers which make them vulnerable to a remote controlled car crash. Cars are loaded with electronic control units which can be hacked. Wifi, blue tooth, and other access points can allow a car to be controlled remotely.
As I pointed out in the December 30th (2016) Mystery Book Club meeting, two recent books include fictional accounts of murder in which the assassin crashes the victim’s car by using remote control of the car’s built-in software. The first of these is The Enemy Inside (2015) by Steve Martini, the 13th book in the Paul Madriani legal thriller series. The second book is The God’s Eye View (2016) by Barry Eisler, a stand-alone book. The links provide a teaser description of the referenced author’s book. Personally, I enjoyed both books. I give Martini’s book about a B+ and Eisler’s book a solid B.
While both accounts are fiction, the accounts of murder by remote controlled car crash is demonstrably realistic, although I know of no proven cases where the crime has been committed and reported in the news… yet. There are certainly allegations! Car theft by hacking access to the electronic security of new cars is widely done today, however.
Many of the car systems can be remotely controlled, from the engine, to braking, to lights and wipers. Imagine a thousand cars on our highways suddenly lost all control of their brakes.
Eisler’s book is all about the ways in which our privacy is invaded and tracked through electronics, and the invasion of a person’s car software is but one of many examples. Interestingly, Eisler, a former CIA agent, adds a 25-page list of references at the end of the book that support the many plot elements describing privacy encroachments.
Here are but a few:
A Forbes article in 2013: “The Terrifying Search Engine That Finds Internet-Connected Cameras, Traffic Lights, Medical Devices, Baby Monitors And Power Plants.” With recent news about hacks in the Democratic party computers (the NEW Watergate break-in, we might say) and a laptop used at the Burlington Power company in Vermont, we know this is timely. But the article goes MUCH farther into the realm of the frightening.
With regard to specific issue of hacking a car or a remotely controlled car crash:
- A video overview (2 min).
- A video demonstration (12 min).
Hi tech crimes involving hacking can be motivated by profit, for espionage, or for sabotage and terrorism. Likely we will see more books that incorporate such elements into their plots.
You can easily learn more by an online search of “car hacking by remote control”.
