AS MODERN CARS have evolved into multi-ton computers on wheels, drivers are beginning to learn they need to install security updates for their vehicles' code, just as they would for a phone or laptop. Yet not even the most tech-savvy car owners would expect they'd need to install a patch for an insecure third-party component they never installed or requested—and likely aren't even aware of—that's been wired into some of the most sensitive systems of their vehicle, leaving it vulnerable to stealthy hacking, tracking, and even roadside paralysis.

 

That's the disturbing discovery of a team of security researchers at UC San Diego, who found that a model of aftermarket car alarm known as the KARR Security System, installed in more than 2 million vehicles across the US by their estimate, can let any hacker within Bluetooth range send radio commands to silently unlock the car at will, turn off its alarm, honk the car's horn or flash its lights, or even disable its ignition and leave a driver stranded.