Police say hackers in Houston targeted several late-model Fiat Chrysler vehicles using a high-tech method to circumvent antitheft protections. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesPolice and car insurers say thieves are using laptop computers to hack into late-model cars’ electronic ignitions to steal the vehicles, raising alarms about the auto industry’s greater use of computer controls. “We have no idea how many cars have been broken into using this method,” Mr. Morris said. “We think it is becoming the new way of stealing cars,” said NICB Vice President Roger Morris. The discovery follows a recent incident in Houston in which a pair of car thieves were caught on camera using a laptop to start a 2010 Jeep Wrangler and steal it from the owner’s driveway.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 05, 2016 18:50 UTC