Dive Brief:
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Security experts proved in a controlled test Tuesday they could use the Internet to take control of a car as it drives.
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The pair used a feature in the Fiat Chrysler telematics system Uconnect to control the car.
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The announcement breathed new life into the debate about the safety of connected cars.
Dive Insight:
The two security experts, former National Security Agency hacker Charlie Miller and IOActive researcher Chris Valasek, rewrote code embedded in the vehicle's entertainment system hardware to control the steering, brakes and engine of the car as it was driven on a highway by a Wired.com reporter.
Mark Rosekind, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief, said his agency is increasingly concerned about the security of vehicle control systems.
“We know these systems will become targets of bad actors,” he said.
On Tuesday, Democrat Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal introduced a bill that would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop standards for “isolating critical software and detect hacking as it occurs.”