These Are the World's Most Hackable Cars

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Forget carjacking — it's car hacking you should be worried about. The 2014 Infinity Q50 is allegedly the most hackable car on the market.

The 2014 Infiniti Q50. Credit: Infiniti

(Image credit: The 2014 Infiniti Q50. Credit: Infiniti)

If you drive a "smart" car — especially a 2014 Infiniti Q50, a 2014 Jeep Cherokee or a 2015 Escalade — then hackers might be able to change the radio, manipulate the GPS or slam on the brakes, even while you're sitting in the driver's seat.

That's according to Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, two security researchers who are among the world's top experts in car hacking. Miller and Valasek plan to present their findings on how to hack into smart cars at the Black Hat and DEF CON security conferences in Las Vegas this week.

MORE: 7 Scariest Security Threats Headed Your Way

The 2014 Infinity Q50 has the dubious honor of being the most hackable car that Miller and Valasek tested. That's because the car's navigation, Bluetooth and radio functions all run on the same network as the car's engine and brakes, as the researchers told security news site Dark Reading. A hacker only needs to break into one network to seize control of all the car's networked features — and even the car itself.

But not all cars are hacked equally. The 2014 Audi A8 is Miller and Valasek's pick for "least hackable" car in their test, followed by the 2014 Dodge Viper and the 2014 Honda Accord.

What makes the 2014 Audi A8 stand out? Each of its computer components runs on its own network, protected by a gateway, and none of those networks are allowed access to the car's basic components, such as steering and brakes.

How can you protect yourself from automotive hacks? The easiest way is to just get a "dumb" car. The more connections your car has to the Internet, the more avenues of attack hackers have into your vehicle. 

Miller and Valasek have also developed a device that can plug into a car and detect network hacks, they told Dark Reading. The researchers will demo this device in Las Vegas as well.

Jill Scharr is a staff writer for Tom's Guide, where she regularly covers security, 3D printing and video games. You can follow Jill on Twitter @JillScharr and on Google+. Follow us @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.

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Jill Scharr

Jill Scharr is a creative writer and narrative designer in the videogame industry. She's currently Project Lead Writer at the games studio Harebrained Schemes, and has also worked at Bungie. Prior to that she worked as a Staff Writer for Tom's Guide, covering video games, online security, 3D printing and tech innovation among many subjects.