US Experts have warned that hackers pose a real danger to self-driving vehicles, and carmakers and insurers are starting to factor in the risk.
Driverless cars have a wide range of cutting-edge technologies such as electronic sensors, a group of cameras, radar, sonar and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) which are commanded remotely using software that senses road widths, identifies signs and even roadblocks.
These new self-driving technology elements could end up leaving them vulnerable to hacker strikes, according to US security firms Mission Secure Inc (MSi) and Perrone Robotics Inc.
Recently, a hacker boasted of having entered the electronic systems of the US jet he was traveling on, and of having changed its trajectory. He claimed he did so using the in-flight Wi-Fi system.
The two security companies, working with the University of Virginia and the Pentagon, have run tests that have shown they believe it is possible to hack into and disrupt the multi-sensor system.
The experts say hackers penetrate the system through wireless connections.
MSi and Perrone Robotics, which are working on a system to counter cyber-attacks, believe the situation poses “significant challenges and risks for the automotive industry, as well as to public safety.”
