CIOIN

 A recent report by the Associated Press paints a frightening picture: Hackers have learned to unlock a car's doors and start its engine simply by sending text messages to a vehicle's security system. Don Bailey and Mat Solnik, researchers from security firm iSec Partners, demonstrated such an attack on a Subaru Outback, using a laptop to send their messages and break into the vehicle.

As scary as all this sounds, in reality, the cause for alarm is practically nil. As the Associated Press article goes on to explain, hackers need a specific phone number to break into an in-car security system. To get that number, they must run a certain kind of network administration program, which can probe for vulnerable security devices by make and model. Then, the thief must get close to the target vehicle and run a hacking tool to see if that car is using a vulnerable security system.

After all that effort, the car's steering wheel may still be mechanically locked, preventing the hacker from driving away after breaking in. If someone really wants to steal a car, there are plenty of other methods that sound a lot easier. Keep in mind that this high-tech car hack is just a proof-of-concept, and it's not the first. In March this year, researchers described using a Trojan horse on an audio CD to break a car's defenses. And that didn’t really spark off a wave of car thefts.

Bailey and Solnik are more concerned with how their text message hack could be used for more nefarious purposes, such as hacking ATMs, medical equipment or even power plants.