The self-driving car
Could a hacker take over my self-driving car?
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The experts say it's unlikely, although they could control some partial functions. Google proposes a surprising solution: don't connect the car to the Internet.
The Californian company amazed the world with its highly complex search algorithm that simplified access to information on the Internet. Now in the process of developing its self-driving car -with hybrid/pluggable propulsionâ- it has another surprise up its sleeve, this time proposing very simple solutions to very complex problems.
The self-driving car developed by Google is called Waymo
External link, opens in new window., and doesn't need the Internet to travel safely on the road. This emerged from declarations by the project manager and former CEO , John Krafcik, to the Financial Times: “Our cars communicate with the outside world only when they need to, so there isn't a continuous line that's able to be hacked, going into the car”. Google's test vehicles can drive for long periods without any connection, “because all of the driving capabilities are on board the car itself, only opening a link to the cloud to send or receive information such as traffic reports”, explained Krafcik.
In 2024 alone, Waymo cars made more than 4 million fully autonomous trips, which in turn prevented the emission of more than 6 million kilograms of CO₂. In the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco this service is already fully open and it has recently expanded to Austin, Atlanta, Miami and, as a first international opportunity, Tokyo.
Meanwhile, other car makers entrust the whole autonomous driving system to a network with which they would be permanently connected. In fact, one of the main capabilities of the new mobile communication technology, called G5 is to support the connection and the vast amounts of data traffic from millions of self-driving vehicles.
Detecting vulnerabilities
If the self-driving car is to become a reality, it will have to guarantee maximum safety for future buyers. In July 2015 two computer engineers took over total control of a Jeep Cherokee. The case became famous and raised the fear that someone could control any self-driving vehicle from the outside. This is why it's important to know the facts: this was an experiment External link, opens in new window. published by a prestigious technology journal, and the two IT specialists were a security engineer at Twitter and the director of Vehicle Security at Inactive, a company specialising in cybersecurity. It's true they took over total control, but with software that took over a year to develop.
In October 2016, the technology guru David Pogue published an article in the prestigious journal Investigación y Ciencia where he condemned the alarmist reports of the media, and said it was “almost impossible” for a hacker to take control of any vehicle driving on the road. And to be on the safe side, some manufacturers like Chrysler and Tesla are already offering tempting rewards to hackers who notify them of vulnerabilities.
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Cybersecurity risks
Taking control of the car is not the only thing a hacker who gains access to a self-driving vehicle could do. Here are the potential risks to this innovative sector:
- Data theft: Because these cars connect to the cloud to run, the hacker might access the driver's data while hurting the company's reputation in the process.
- Loss of control: This situation can lead to extremely high risk situations for the vehicle occupant and their surroundings.
- Car misfunctions: It could be as simple as the windscreen wipers activating or as fatal as braking in the middle of the motorway which could have very serious consequences.
In recent years, companies have become increasingly aware of the risks these vehicles are exposed to and measures have been implemented, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the attack and counter it in a matter of seconds, but it is still an uncertain field with a long way to go.
SEE INFOGRAPHIC: The most hackable systems in a cyberattack [PDF] External link, opens in new window.
The self-driving car is already a reality for companies such as US-based Tesla and China's NIO, but there is still some way to go for full deployment. This may bring about the dream of zero accidents and save 1.9 million lives a year, the number of fatalities caused by traffic accidents worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
And it will certainly achieve the dream of John Krafcik: that his 97-year-old grandmother can visit her grandchildren whenever she wants, without depending on a family member having to be available to drive her there.