That's really the problem...just like feds wanting backdoors that "only they" can access, Onstar thought it was clever and could grant itself powers in software that no one would be able to exploit. Too bad the people who are best at exploiting software aren't likely to work for companies like Onstar (I'm not saying Onstar is disreputable, just probably boring and with a low skill ceiling).

> 50 bitcoin in 20 minutes or your car takes a drive off the pier

I would NOT like to think about what would happen to someone who tried this sort of thing. I expect within seconds of the first accident (or worse, injury, even fatality) causing malware being discovered, the resources of the entire NSA would be being used to track down the author. Then, when found, 'bad day' would not begin to describe the rest of their life. In fact, I can see this sort of thing being validly placed under 'terrorism' and dealt with appropriately.

People who randomly attack vehicles being driven around today (brick thrown off bridge over a busy road into windscreen et al) are not the smartest, or have poor self control or other issues, but they are actually quite rare. To pull off an automated hack would require enough intelligence that they can surely understand the consequences. Therefore, this will be done by a genuine psychopath (or sociopath? never quite sure of the terminology) or terrorist group.

I think we should be as worried about vehicular-malware-based-death as we are about dying from other terrorist attacks. So yes, I know that means the risk is small, but the general public will over estimate it, and worry inappropriately. That seems to be a matter of education, not technology, though...