FEATURE : IOT SECURITY
IMAGINE A HACKER , KNOWING THAT YOU ’ RE TRAVELLING FAR FROM HOME , SELLS THAT INFORMATION TO A CRIMINAL GANG WHO THEN BREAKS INTO YOUR HOME , OR USES YOUR ONLINE CREDENTIALS TO EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNT laptops and smart phones an IoT device like an autonomous car . For instance :
Ransomware : Ransomware is certainly on the rise on PCs and mobile phones . But driverless cars represent an almost ideal target . Imagine the following scenario : a hacker uses the in-car display to inform the driver that his car has been immobilized and that a ransom must be paid to restore the vehicle to normal operation . While a laptop or tablet may be restored relatively easily with potentially no damage , assuming backups are available , a car is a very different story . The owner may be far from home ( the ransomware could be programmed to only launch when the car is a predetermined distance from its home base .)
Naturally , few dealerships would be familiar with resolving this sort of problem , and specialist help would most likely be required to reset affected components . The cost of such a ransom is expected to be very high , and will likely take time . In the meantime , the vehicle may have to be towed .
So the question is , what is the amount of the ransom demand that we expect to see ? Estimates are that it is likely to be significantly higher than for traditional computer ransomware , but probably less than any related repair costs so that the car owner is tempted to pay .
Spyware : Perhaps a more attractive target for hackers is collecting data about you through your car . Driverless cars collect massive amounts of data , and know a lot about you – including your favourite destinations , your travel routes , where you live , how and where you buy things , and even the people you travel with . Imagine a hacker , knowing that you ’ re travelling far from home , sells that information to a criminal gang who then breaks into your home , or uses your online credentials to empty your bank account .
That last risk exists because your driverless and connected vehicle is likely to become a gateway for any number of electronic transactions , such as automatic payment of your daily morning coffee , or parking charges , or even repairs . With sensitive information stored in the car , it becomes another attack vector to obtain your personal information . And with RFIDs and Near Field Communications ( NFC ) becoming www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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