Well, your SUV is now in deep danger of being hacked, courtesy of an article from Wired Magazine that highlights on of the deepest concerns we all have regarding internet-connected cars.

In what as a (semi) controlled experiment, Wired’s Andy Greenberg took his brand new Cherokee for a spin with the full knowledge of ‘white hat’ hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek. The pair, who had been researching the car’s systems for over a year, was able to gain access to the vehicle via the entertainment system and take control of a surprising amount of functions from the comfort of their couch.

Greenberg observed cold air blasting through the air-con vents, the windscreen wipers activating, and the stereo roaring. So far, not such a big deal…

Then came the kicker. Miller and Valasek took control of the transmission while Andy drove at over 110km/h. With all power gone, the jeep crawled to almost a halt on the freeway on which the test was conducted – much to the chagrin of drivers around him.

It’s an experiment that will terrify anyone who is sceptical of the safety of automated cars.

Interestingly, this week also saw Google release data on traffic accidents throughout its automated car project. There have been fourteen accidents throughout the trial – an interesting number given the fleet of around 25 cars drives a combines 15,000kms per week.

What’s even more interesting is that every one of those incidents was the result of poor decision-making by other drivers. If you don’t believe Google, you’d better believe they’ve got the data to back it up.

This makes for an interesting paradox. As cars become safer due to the lack of human intervention, they’re more prone to human intervention. Given big data has great potential to solve congestion and lower death tolls, how car companies manage the risks around hacking presents an interesting challenge for the future.