Few will argue that advances in technology have not had many beneficial effects on individual’s lives and society in general. Technology has also helped deter theft by making it more difficult. This seems especially true with car theft.

Gone are the days when a simple wire coat hanger could gain entry into virtually any vehicle. Gone are the ridiculously heavy “Club” or “Gorilla Grips” attached to the steering which forced thieves to have strong bolt cutters to get them off.

With so many vehicles now fully electronic, a new mode of entry has been discovered that I am sure experts are working on finding a way to prevent.

Theft by Text

Have you heard of car thieves using text messages to break into cars? Neither had I until recently. But the scary truth is hackers have learned to unlock a car's doors and start its engine simply by sending text messages to the vehicle's security system.

Don Bailey and Mat Solnik, researchers from security firm iSec Partners, demonstrated the attack on a Subaru Outback, using a laptop to send their messages and break into the vehicle. The hack could apply to high-end security systems like OnStar, although Bailey and Solnik wouldn't reveal whose system they cracked.

Reason to Fear?

Like I said, scary stuff, but in reality, the cause for alarm is practically nil.

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. Besides, Bailey and Solnik are already working with the maker of the security system they hacked to plug the holes.

Keep in mind that this high-tech car hack is just a proof of concept, and it's not the first. In March, researchers described using a Trojan Horse on audio CD to break a car's defenses. To my knowledge, no car theft epidemic has resulted from either of these methods.

Bailey and Solnik are more concerned with how their text message hack could be used for more nefarious purposes, such as hacking of ATMs, medical equipment or even power plants. Those are valid concerns, but if your car uses a high end security system, chances are it'll still be there when you get back from the parking lot.

Technology – a great and scary thing. The moral of all this is to not steal.