DAVID POGUE: A machine is controlled by a computer and connected to a network, then hackers could potentially take over the reins, even a machine as complex as a car.

FRANZI ROESNER: (University of Washington Security and Privacy Lab): The car project was one of these examples where we look at an existing, on-the-market device to see if it's vulnerable to attack. Essentially, could we hack the car and control it remotely?

DAVID POGUE: You might not realize it, but if you drive a car made in the last few years, it's full of computer software.

YOSHI KOHNO: We have computers controlling the brakes, the steering, the door locks.

DAVID POGUE: You can also order some cars with built-in cell phones systems, designed to connect to operators in an emergency.

YOSHI KOHNO: There are cars that can call 911 for you, if you get into an accident.

DAVID POGUE: Yoshi saw the car's cell phone as another potential security hole, one that could serve as a portal to a vehicle's computer system, to be exploited by a cyber car thief.

DAN HALPERIN: If someone else can use that remote connection to do security attacks, it makes you a lot more vulnerable.

DAVID POGUE: Yoshi and his team set out to hack into one of those cars, so the first thing they do is buy one. They want to see if their car's phone can give them a direct line to its computer system. Their fear is that an evil hacker could set up a computer to call thousands of random numbers to locate and then take control of a car.

ALEXEI CZESKIS: There's that number. Ready to dial it?

KARL KOSCHER: Sure.

ALEXEI CZESKIS: Okay.

KARL KOSCHER: I'm dialing the number.

DAVID POGUE: Once they have the car's number, they call it, hoping they'll be able to install their own software over the phone line and onto the car's computer.

ALEXEI CZESKIS: The sound is going to come over those headphones, play into the phone that's going to get received by the car.

KARL KOSCHER: All right, and send.

All right, went through successfully.

ALEXEI CZESKIS: Awesome.

DAVID POGUE: Now they could have the car report its G.P.S. location, and they send the coordinates to Yoshi, who stands in as a thief.

YOSHI KOHNO: Hello?

FRANZI ROESNER: Hi, Yoshi? We've got a car for you that we're going to unlock.

YOSHI KOHNO: Ah, great.

FRANZI ROESNER: And we're going to flash the lights, so that you can find it.

DAVID POGUE: Now that they have a direct line to the car's computers, they want to see if they can take control and make the vehicle think that someone is flashing the lights.

FRANZI ROESNER: Okay, flashing lights now.

YOSHI KOHNO: Let me see, flashing lights, flashing lights. Ah, yes, I see the vehicle. Okay. And I'm walking up to it now.

DAVID POGUE: But could they unlock the doors and start the engine?

FRANZI ROESNER: Now we're going to initiate the unlock sequence. The car should unlock and the engine should start.

YOSHI KOHNO: Okay, the car is on. Getting in the car, and I'm going to start driving. Here I am driving.

DAVID POGUE: Yoshi's team took over the car from an office a few blocks away, but with this technique, they could, theoretically, do it from almost anywhere in the world, using a wireless connection.