Can your car get hacked? The answer may scare you

With today's high-tech automobiles, is it possible your car could get hacked just like a computer or smartphone?

The short answer? Yes.

Consumer Reports got to experience a controlled hack by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as it researches car security.

The demonstration showed how one can be left helpless at the wheel. With a laptop hardwired to the car, a hacker can take control of the horn, seat belts, even brakes and steering.

"Today's cars are basically computers on wheels. Computers control basically everything: the engine, the suspension, the seats, the mirrors, even the air conditioning," said Jake Fisher, director of Consumer Reports auto testing.

Frank Barickman with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it's not a matter of it, but rather a matter of when cars will be easily hacked.

"Someone could possibly do something nefarious to the vehicle," Barickman said.

While this may sound unsettling, Consumer Reports says there isn't reason to panic.

"The benefits of these computers, they far outweigh the risks. This is not a reason to run out and buy a computer-less, 20-year-old car," Fisher said.

At this point, Consumer Reports said hacking can be done only with a computer that has been hardwired into the car and by someone with intimate knowledge of the car's software.