Not directly, but you could cause a loss of control with the use of the braking/traction controls. Add a little left front brake, a little more power from the engine, and we have a swerve into oncoming traffic.
Or a swerve into a tree?
The hacks were accomplished by connecting to the cars’ computers via the on-board diagnostics port, usually used by mechanics to identify faults. From this entry point Valasek and Miller sent a series of instructions to the car that overrode commands from the driver.
The pair [of researchers] were able to change the read-out on the fuel tank and the speedometer, disable the brakes, tighten the seat-belts (the cars engage this function in the event of a crash) and even take control of the wheel, remotely swerving the vehicle to the side – a hack that could be deadly on a busy road.
Toyota were dismissive of the research, claiming that the cars were not actually ‘hacked’ because the work required physical access to the car. Valasek and Miller have responded by noting that wireless access to cars’ on-board software has been possible since 2010, with a range of techniques from Bluetooth bugs to app malware used to gain access.
The pair said that connecting the dots between remotely accessing a vehicle’s software and hacking those same systems isn’t difficult.