An American security consultant has claimed that he can unlock thousands of cars simply by sending a text message. Don Bailey,a senior consultant with iSEC Partners,gave a demonstration of his hacking ability at the Black Hat security and hacking conference in Las Vegas. Bailey refused to reveal which cars are susceptible to his hack,and warned that the same hacking trick can be used to attack phones,cash machines and even industrial systems such as water and power supplies. I could care less if I could unlock a car door, the Daily Mail quoted Bailey as telling CNN during the conference at Caesars Palace. Its cool. Its sexy. But the same system is used to control phone,power,traffic systems. I think thats the real threat, he stated. The hack works because some electronic components - such as remote car locks - accepts wireless signals that are vulnerable to interference. Bailey also revealed that it was an episode of the Oprah Winfrey show that led him to the technology. The TV host was demonstrating an invention called the Zoombak,which could be used by parents to track their children. This was my thinking: Thats dangerous. That can definitely be owned. Lets own that thing, he said. To own something in hacker slang is to take control of it,and once he understood how to control the Zoombak,he was able to adapt the method to cars.
