Hackers seize control of Jeep using a laptop and a phone

HACKERS have managed to take control of a car and crash it into a ditch while sitting on their sofa 10 miles away.

In the first such breach of its kind security experts caused the engine to cut out and applied the brakes on a Jeep Cherokee, sending it into a spin.

The US hackers said they used just a laptop and mobile phone to access the Jeep’s on-board systems via its wireless internet connection. They claim that more than 470,000 cars made by Fiat Chrysler could be at risk of similar breaches, including vehicles in the UK.

The hack was revealed by security researchers Charlie Miller, a former staffer at the NSA, and Chris Valasek.

They worked with Andy Greenberg, a writer with tech website Wired.com, who was driving the Jeep on public roads in St Louis, Missouri.

In his account Mr Greenberg described how the air vents started blasting out cold air and the radio came on full blast when the hack began. The windscreen wipers turned on, and an image of the two hackers appeared on the car’s digital display.

Mr Greenberg wrote: “The most disturbing manoeuvre came when they cut the Jeep’s brakes, leaving me frantically pumping the pedal as the 2-ton SUV slid uncontrollably into a ditch.

“The researchers say they’re working on perfecting their steering control – for now they can only hijack the wheel when the Jeep is in reverse.”

Fiat Chrysler has issued a “fix”, which owners must download from a USB device, or get a dealer to do the download. A spokesman said the company welcomed the alert, but added: “We caution advocates that in the pursuit of improved public safety they do not, in fact, compromise public safety.”