As many a breakdown vehicle recovery operative will tell you, cars are getting much more complex. This means more things can go wrong - and from a mechanical viewpoint, that creates a lot of work.

But while theUK's breakdown specialists can handle most mechanical issues, there is one area of concern that might be more challenging to address: car hacking.

According to a report by the BBC, there is growing concern among the tech community that cars are vulnerable to hacking.

This may seem alarmist, but when you consider that the average car uses around 200 computers to carry out a variety of tasks – from checking tyre pressure to alerting occupants if they are not wearing seatbelts – the risk appears more real.

I Am The Cavalry (IATC) is a grassroots group that aims to tell the general public about the fears of professional security testers. They are concerned about a lack of transparency over the workings of these on board computers – which are built not by car firms but by third party computer manufacturers.

The BBC report says that according to security firm IOActive's Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, if someone can access a car's Controller Area Network, they can control the entire vehicle.

The IOActive pair set about hacking 21 separate vehicles, discovering that the 2014 Jeep Cherokee is the "most hackable".

The problem of ‘hackability’ is compounded by the fact that a lot of the firms that make car computer equipment will not reveal how their products work. That fact, when we're on the cusp of the ‘connected car’ age, may lead some to ask: what happens if a malevolent agency takes control of a car's computer systems?

It is certainly a question that car firms, tech firms and governments will hear a lot more in the coming years.

By Craig Hindmarsh