Could autopilot technology have saved Germanwings Flight 9525 from disaster?

Aviation experts are calling for a new enhanced crash avoidance software that could take control of an aircraft away from a pilot and steer the plane to a safe altitude. Andreas Lubitz ignored cockpit alarms to "pull up" and "terrain" was ahead. If a pilot ignores audible warning, the software could take over and plot a course to a safe landing. But the idea is not new. Following 9/11, Airbus and Honeywell was working to develop crash avoidance software, but the project was throw away. Commercial airline pilot John Barton worries that the software could be vulnerable to hackers.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-could-autopilot-have-helped/