Skip to main content

American drivers concerned about hacking of autonomous cars, says survey

An online survey by the University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportation Department asked American adults about their level of concern with cyber-security of personally owned autonomous vehicles (with and without driver controls) and current conventional vehicles looked at both vehicle security and data privacy. Within vehicle security, the issues examined were hacking vehicles to cause crashes, hacking by terrorists to use the vehicle as a weapon, disabling many vehicles simultaneously and di
February 8, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
An online survey by the University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportation Department asked American adults about their level of concern with cyber-security of personally owned autonomous vehicles (with and without driver controls) and current conventional vehicles looked at both vehicle security and data privacy.

Within vehicle security, the issues examined were hacking vehicles to cause crashes, hacking by terrorists to use the vehicle as a weapon, disabling many vehicles simultaneously and disabling the main traffic-management system. Within data privacy, the issues examined were gaining access to data on personal travel patterns and gaining access to personal information not related to travel.

According to the report, Cyber-security Concerns with Self-Driving and Conventional Vehicles, researchers found that hacking of autonomous vehicles with controls is of greater concern than hacking of conventional vehicles. However, hacking of vehicles is of concern even for conventional vehicles.

Respondents also said hacking of autonomous vehicles without controls is of greater concern than hacking of autonomous vehicles with controls. They also expressed more concern about hacking to gain control of vehicles or the main traffic management system than hacking of vehicles to get access to personal information.

Related Content

  • We don’t understand ITS, say transport companies: new IRU report
    November 6, 2018
    Half of transport companies say that ITS adoption is being held back by a “limited understanding of the range of emerging technologies available”, according to a new global survey. The sobering finding – which indicates that ITS providers and policy makers have more to do to explain some of the benefits – comes from the IRU’s ‘The future of road transport’ report. The other major barrier to adopting technology is cost, say 71% of respondents. The IRU says: “This suggests that pockets of the industry have
  • Reliability is key to AV acceptance, finds Dutch study
    August 31, 2018
    Reliability is the key factor in people’s acceptance of autonomous vehicles, suggests a new academic study. Nine out of ten people said it was easy to use 2getthere’s Parkshuttle, operated by the Dutch municipality of Capelle aan den Ijssel. Four out of five respondents said the system - which connects Rivium business park and metro station Kralingse Zoom - is reliable, mainly because of its frequency and punctuality. The qualitative study from Utrecht University also focused on operational factors
  • ANPR shockwaves emanate from Royston ruling
    October 7, 2013
    Colin Sowman looks at how a ruling regarding ANPR cameras in a small English town could have wide-reaching implications. Superficially it was an easy decision: the local council and traders wanted, and were prepared to fund, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed to deter crime in Royston, a small town (population 17,000) in rural England.
  • Travel times inform drivers’ diversion decisions
    July 26, 2013
    A study of the impact of travel time information on driver behaviour has come to some interesting conclusions, as Dean Deeter of Athey Creek Consultants explains. For some time road operators have been using dynamic message signs (DMS) to keep drivers informed of current road conditions. While it is known that drivers welcome the additional information, little has been known about the effect this information has on driver behaviour - until now that is. A survey undertaken by ENTERPRISE (Evaluating New TEch