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Virtual hacking of driverless cars concern automakers

It's frightening to imagine hackers having their own virtual driver's seat and taking over your car - but there's a lot that can be done to counter them, writes Alvin R. Cabral.

Imagine you're cruising down the road in your new, tech-riddled, shimmering-sparkling, spanking-new automobile that makes heads turn as you zoom along.
Then all of a sudden your car system conks out, you get locked up inside and you speed up aimlessly, all because you've just been hacked, complete with an insert-here-a-creative-and-spine-tingling-message-from-your-friendly-hacker.
So let's make one thing clear here: no matter how high-tech your car is, it is - much like your PC, laptop, mobile device or online account - not 100 per cent safe from cyber-attacks.
And it all starts on how robust a car's system should be.
"The amount of software in cars will continue to increase as nearly all new features and improvements depend on computer hardware and software," Dr Egil Juliussen, director of research and principal analyst at IHS Automotive Technology, said.
"The core control units, such as engine control, continue to grow. Driver assist is adding tremendous amount of software as this functionality eventually becomes autonomous driving and then driverless cars."
Add in the infotainment functions - already the largest software segment and now becoming connected to various cloud content and other mobile devices, all of which requires more software - and you've got yourself a whole lot to control.
And when you speak of autonomous driving and driverless cars, you know that what you have in your hands is an intrinsic web of technologies, according to Samir Cherfan, managing director of Nissan Middle East.
"Autonomous driving combines the technology of robotics, artificial intelligence, sensors and car-to-car connectivity - all of which involve advanced software and computer programming," he said.
Such technologies already exist - anti-lock brakes, active cruise control, blind-spot warning and parking assist - most without the driver "even thinking about them".
The managing director for the Middle East of Infiniti - Nissan's high-end subsidiary - concurs. Anything that supports a driver and reduces the likeliness of an accident will be a great advantage - with a fair warning: the weakest part in the driving exercise is still the driver, believe it or not.
Yes, sometimes there are technical issues but there is still some human error involved," Juergen Schmitz said. "If we can minimise human error by technology helping, this is an advantage for everybody. in the Middle East this is a very, very important topic."
So just imagine what a disaster it will be if some hacker jams your system, eliminating all of those conveniences.
Emre Karaer, general manager of Volvo Car Group Middle East and North Africa, termed cyber-attacks, malfunctioning and hijacking as "critical threats".
The automotive industry is stretching the boundaries to create state-of-art solutions by leveraging social, mobile, analytics and the cloud. Customers today wish to be connected at all times and their expectations about connected capabilities in general are increasing," he said.
"Our focus. is on how we can make journeys safer by providing new, cloud-based real-time traffic information."
Too much reliance?
We all know technology makes our lives easier, to the point that there is a tendency to rely too much on it. And as it is a given that nothing is perfect, this doesn't sit well with a lot of people.
"I would not call it 'too much reliance' because software is required to add functionality to future cars," Dr Juliussen opines. "But there is no question that automotive software will need better reliability and core control functions will need hardware and software redundancy [especially] for self-driving cars."
And it goes without saying that aside from the technical aspects of car systems, the failure to install a very strong solution to prevent cyber-attacks is not an option.
Let's put this into perspective: if your PC gets hacked, the "only" thing that will be compromised is your data. A car getting hacked can put a human life at stake.
"We are all living in a high-tech world. in principle, when you are using data, there is the potential [to be attacked by cyber-criminals], Schmitz adds.
"At the same time, there are measures to prevent this; I agree that this is one of the issues the industry needs to solve to ensure that everything is 110 per cent safe."
While there are no officially documented cases of actual cyber-attacks on vehicles, it is not a distinct possibility as researchers have been able to simulate it. For example, a study from the University of Washington and the University of California San Diego entitled "Experimental Security Analysis of a Modern Automobile" revealed that it is indeed possible to take over a vehicle via controlling it and performing such stuff like locking down its doors or shutting down the engine.
The death of American journalist Michael Hastings in 2013 also brought up a theory that his car was hacked; his vehicle was seen speeding up with apparently no control. This was, however, not proven.
Cherfan, like everyone else in the industry, says that security initiatives in vehicles is a no-brainer.
"We will continue to prioritise security initiatives and work with innovators outside of the automobile industry as we identify the best potential partners to ensure our vehicles are not subject to cyber-attacks," he said.
Ensuring safety standards in vehicles is not limited to passengers themselves; there are a lot of other things that can be affected outside the car.
Volvo's "Drive ME" project, for example, is entering its second year and the company aims to put in 100 self-driving cars in identified markets by 2017.
This technology is "typically useful to detect unexpected situations, such as pedestrians, or hazards on the road close to the car", Karaer says, adding that Volvo is in touch with UAE authorities for the possibility of having this in the UAE.
Volvo was also among the first three car manufacturers that announced a partnership with Apple CarPlay; the others were Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. On the other hand, the Hyundai Sonata was the first vehicle to offer Google's Android Auto system.
Nissan's "Traffic Jam Pilot", meanwhile, is being targeted for a late-2016 rollout, will allow a car to drive autonomously in heavy, stop-and-go traffic. This eventually will be offered across a wide range of Nissan, Infiniti and Renault vehicles, and by the end of 2016, there are plans to make fully-automated parking systems available across a wide range of Nissan automobiles.
You can bet that all these are merely the tip of the iceberg for what the future holds for the auto industry. As the adage goes, the possibilities are endless.
However, of equal importance is the ability of manufacturers to ensure not only the best, but the safest-possible technologies - this isn't just like installing some free anti-virus software or something, right?
"The electronics systems in the car will need solutions to prevent cyber-attacks," Dr Juliussen says. "The auto industry is now aware that automotive cyber-security will be required and there is now lots of research and development to determine what type of cyber-security will be needed."
All stakeholders need to be involved in this intrinsic process - hey, just think about the great benefits that will be reaped if everything goes smoothly.
"The government organisations that regulate the auto industry are also working on cyber-security threats and will help make standards that the will be ready in a few years," he added.
Keep in mind, though, that this will definitely not happen overnight - but over time, cyber-security hardware and software will become better.
"However, it is basically impossible to make all the computer-based systems in the car totally safe from cyber-attacks. The main strategy is to make automotive cyber-attacks very expensive and prevent hackers from having a business model that generates revenue with little effort. I believe the auto industry will be able to add enough cyber-security by around 2020 to prevent the vast majority of cyber-attacks. But it is likely there will be some cyber-attacks that succeeds, which will force the auto industry to work even harder to get better cyber-security systems," Dr Juliussen stresses.
Which means that saying "be careful while driving" - the norm in today's world - will have a whole new meaning in the near future.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com