BBC Knowledge AUGUST 2017

Valasek have managed to take over various

vehicles’ electronic control units remotely.

Hacking is therefore an enormous concern

for everybody, not just in terms of losing control

of the vehicle but also regarding what that vehicle

could then be used for, as Crowder points out.

“[Hacking] is a concern and it’s something

that’s often raised... it could open the way

towards terrorism or other criminal activity.

But that’s a risk that’s already there – with cars

that have keyless technology, for example.

Certainly, the manufacturers will need to be

on top of the technology to make it hack-proof,

but everybody knows that car thieves are often

one step ahead,” he says.

Being “one step ahead” means that the people

who abuse the technology – the thieves and

hackers – are often the ones who can design the

best security systems. Uber certainly thinks so:

the company hired Miller and Valasek shortly

after they demonstrated what they could do to a

car being driven miles away, using only a laptop.

Although autonomous vehicles have the

potential to make our roads safer, there are still

a lot of bugs to work out with the technology, and

questions to answer regarding its use. The only

thing we can say with any certainty is that it’s

going to be a long time before the human element

is completely taken out of the driving equation.

Rob Banino is a freelance science and

technology writer.

of an accident, and that the information is made

available to prevent drivers being unfairly blamed.

The data would cover a period from 30 seconds

before to 15 seconds after an incident, and provide

a GPS record of the time and location of the

incident; confirmation of whether the vehicle

was in autonomous or manual mode; if, while

in autonomous mode, the vehicle was parking

or driving; when the vehicle went into

autonomous mode, and when the driver last

interacted with the system.

HIGH-TECH HACKING

But what if someone is controlling the vehicle

who isn’t the driver? In other words, what if an

autonomous vehicle is hacked? This has already

been proven possible with conventional vehicles:

cyber security experts Charlie Miller and Chris

Roborace allows driverless technology to be tested, without

putting drivers’ lives in jeopardy

Volvo has been working on self-driving technology, using sensors
that keep track of the road and surroundings

“If – or when – autonomous

vehicles are given the

go-ahead, you won’t be able

to stumble out of a pub

drunk and expect your car

to drive you home”

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