Page 232 - Cyber Defense eMagazine June 2024

The Challenge of Combatting Threats Against

Autonomous Vehicles

By Joseph Hladik, Cyber Group Lead, Neya Systems

From perception and sensing to mapping and localization, both off-road and on-road autonomous
vehicles rely heavily on software and connectivity to operate safely. Unfortunately, as with any connected
device, autonomous vehicles can be vulnerable to cyberattacks. As the technology continues to evolve,
protecting a vehicle’s software and communication systems from cyber threats is critical to ensuring the
safety and integrity of autonomous transportation, whether on a paved road, a dense forest, or a
construction site.

A threat actor that compromises a vehicle’s software or communications system and achieves
unauthorized access to a vehicle can potentially result in data theft, remote command and control
operations, collision, injury, or even loss of life. This is especially true of military applications, where
ensuring the cybersecurity of autonomous off-road vehicles is paramount to protect not only the safety of
passengers, but also the integrity of the mission.

As it stands, however, cybersecurity for autonomous vehicles is still immature when compared to the
protection capabilities of an enterprise environment. The complexity of autonomous systems, combined
with a lack of universal standards, makes ensuring the security of these vehicles a challenging task. As
such, the potential for adversarial threats requires advanced security measures and constant vigilance.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – June 2024 Edition 232
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