Autonomous vehicles - cybersecurity and privacy challenges and opportunities

Abstract

With technical innovation accelerating through the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is clearly feasible that truly autonomous vehicles without human intervention will be realised in this generation. It has been shown that all fields related to autonomous vehicles, including cybersecurity and privacy, are constantly evolving, with frequent technical breakthroughs. However, cybersecurity and privacy will be critical challenges for the success of implementing autonomous vehicles. This chapter provides an overview of the current state of the art on the cybersecurity and privacy aspects of autonomous vehicles and focuses on crucial concepts and principles in cybersecurity and privacy of autonomous vehicles rather than the current technical status of each research strand. It is expected that this chapter could provide a high-level resource, through which, readers can understand the challenges and the landscape of cybersecurity and privacy of autonomous vehicles in the incredibly connected and technology-orientated world. The chapter also addresses the economics of autonomous vehicle security - a critical element in the cybersecurity domain, as well as the infrastructure investments for improving the security and privacy of autonomous vehicles. Finally, a case study of maritime vehicles further demonstrates the critical challenges of cybersecurity and privacy, as well as the need of technology advance for the safety of autonomous vehicle in maritime, which might be threatened by the cyberattacks or cybercrimes.