Are self driving cars vulnerable to cyber attacks?

MUMBAI, INDIA: As technology continues to dominate us, and we begin to lead futuristic lives, the day is not far when our personal safety will be at risk.

While critics can argue that the destruction has already begun with hackers injecting spyware and malware for financial gains, the next big target will be self driven cars, warn experts at US security firms Mission Secure (MSi) and Perrone Robotics. Car makers and insurers are also taking this risk seriously.

Driverless cars which will ply on the roads in 2020 or earlier, will have cutting-edge technologies such as electronic sensors, cameras, radar, sonar and light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-commanded remotely using software that senses road widths, identifies signs and even roadblocks.

The two security companies got into action after a hacker wrote about how he entered the electronic systems of the US jet he was travelling on, and changed its trajectory by using the in-flight Wi-Fi system. The companies having worked in conjunction with the University of Virginia and the Pentagon have found that it is possible to hack into and disrupt a multi-sensor system.

According to experts, hackers penetrate the system through wireless connections. Both MSi and Perrone Robotics believe the situation poses significant challenges and risks for the automotive industry, as well as to public safety.

One of the trials included driverless cars and how they responded during obstacles.

"One attack scenario forces the car to accelerate, rather than brake, even though the obstacle avoidance system (using LiDAR) detects an object in front of the car. Rather than slowing down, the car hits the object at high speed, causing damage and potential threat to the life and safety of the passengers, and the car being struck," according to the report posted on MSi website.

"If an attack were carried out successfully, automobile manufacturers have no means of quickly gathering information for forensic analysis or to rapidly deploy additional protections to cars in response to new and evolving attacks," the report cautions.