Autonomous car cyber security consortium awarded funding

"The importance of identifying potential ‘vulnerabilities’ – flaws in a connected car’s communications and data systems that could be exploited by somebody seeking to ‘hack’ into that vehicle’s control mechanisms or other on-board technology – and protecting such vehicles against interference or attack, has stepped up in the past five years, as online menaces have become potentially more hazardous – and more penetrative.

Some users are becoming accustomed to the practice of protecting their ‘endpoint devices’; but nowadays the very communications infrastructures that form the backbone of our hard-wired and wireless networks regularly come under attack. This has created yet another field of battle to be defended, as national Internet exchanges, for instance, and the internetworking equipment they rely on – such as switches and routers – are maliciously probed.

One of the challenges we have at the moment in making connected vehicles secure is that we are trying to secure legacy systems. Fully autonomous vehicles are being designed from scratch, allowing cyber security to be considered at the initial stages of the design process."

How fast is cyber security growing versus the threat?

"The driverless/autonomous car trials planned in the UK include testing of roadside infrastructure that will communicate with vehicles to inform them of congestion, roadworks, etc., and allow drivers or their vehicles to plan and use alternative routes. Malicious attacks on this infrastructure, or the jamming/interference of satellite navigation signals, could in future severely disrupt traffic in urban areas and bring large parts of a city to a standstill.

It is important, then, that our future vehicles and their supporting smart infrastructure are designed to be resilient under both normal and adverse operating conditions. Currently most cyber-attacks are targeted at organisations within the energy sector. However as the Internet of Things grows and more things become connected, the transport sector is likely to become a target. It is difficult to say when this might happen but the drivers are likely to be financial gain, competitor espionage and disruption of services."

Why does this need the government's attention?

"No connected computer system is 100% guaranteed secure in terms of invulnerability or the integrity of the data it holds or processes, and the owners of targeted systems must be ever-vigilant for as yet unknown threats and undetected vulnerabilities to emerge at some future time. Currently the approach adopted and level of maturity in developing cyber secure vehicles varies dramatically between the OEMs.

As the link between cyber security and the safety of the vehicle is realised, the public will start to demand vehicles that are cyber secure and it is likely that the Government will need to be involved in setting the standards the OEMs need to meet in order to produce a vehicle which is safe to drive in the UK."

Is the UK likely to make an impact on cyber security, versus other economies and tech industries?