BUZZ
I
nnovation in the automotive
industry has led to a scenario
where a car being manual
may simply mean it has a
steering wheel. Once
composed of only
mechanical and electrical
parts, cars have now turned into
complex systems that comprise
sensors, microprocessors, software,
and much more.
The proliferation of autonomous
vehicles means that microprocessors
and sensors will soon take a much
more active role in driving cars.
However, even before self-driving
cars become commonplace, modern
cars are already vulnerable to
hackers via in-car technology like Wi-
Fi. These “connected cars” are
becoming standard. In 2015, there
were around 6.5 million connected
cars on the road and by 2017, the
figure almost doubled to 12.5 million.
According to estimates, there will be
as many as a quarter billion
connected vehicles on the road by
2020.
This new technology has also opened
a floodgate of security threats. While
you might be behind the wheel,
potentially vulnerable software
control your car’s functions. “There is
almost nothing in your car that is not
mediated by a computer,” said
Professor Stefan Savage, Department
of Computer Science, UC San Diego,
while speaking to Motherboard
magazine for a short documentary
on car hacking.
Fear of car hacking has not yet
penetrated the general population’s
psyche, as demonstrated by a 2016
Kelley Blue Book survey of drivers.
The results of the survey show that
among its sample size, very few
drivers fear car hacking and most
consider connected apps and Wi-Fi
networks nice features to have.
Worries over security have also not
slowed down the pace at which
connectivity features continue to be
rolled out due to the real benefits all
this technology can bring with it.
Connectivity technologies in
commercial vehicles not only
improve efficiency and streamline
logistics, they also lower occurrences
“There is almost
nothing in your car that
is not mediated by a
computer,” said
Professor Stefan
Savage, Department of
Computer Science, UC
San Diego, while
speaking to
Motherboard magazine
for a short documentary
on car hacking.
CISO MAG | July 2017
9