We’re About To Enter An Era Of Robotics And Self-Driving Cars: But How Will We Secure Those Things?

The era of automation is very nearly upon us. More and more, we’re seeing artificial intelligence make its way into numerous industries. Perhaps most notable of these is the automotive space. Self-driving cars are already on the road in large numbers – and that’s got a lot of people very, very nervous. Are their fears justified, though? 

I’ve always felt the best movies to be those that have one foot in reality – those films that are just grounded enough as to be believable. While some of its action sequences were a little over the top, Fast and Furious 8 fit the bill in that regard. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it involves Cipher, a cyberterrorist whose eventual goal is to trigger a devastating global by hacking a nuclear submarine. 

At one point in the film, Cipher hijacks an enormous fleet of self-driving cars and uses them as self-propelled weapons. While it certainly strains realism for anyone who’s been paying attention to the autonomous driving field, it does raise a question that’s grown ever more important as we’ve brought more and more of our world online. Namely, in a hyper-connected society that’s increasingly driven by automation, how can we ensure our technology remains secure and our lives safe?

We’ve already seen in the real world what happens when self-driving cars lose control. We’ve already explored on countless occasions what happens when artificial intelligence systems go rogue – it’s one of the most common tropes of science fiction. And we’ve already been given some inkling of the dangers posed by an Internet of poorly-secured Things, and the horrifyingly-large botnets that can result.   

What Can We Do About It? 

In that regard, I’ve both good news and bad news. The good news is that, at least where autonomous vehicles are concerned, cybersecurity is actually in a pretty good place. Prior to self-driving cars, the automotive industry was already quite strict, with myriad safety and design regulations for manufacturers to follow. The cybersecurity requirements introduced by technologies such as advanced sensors and digital instrument arrays just add a few more boxes for these companies to tick.

That isn’t to say cybersecurity is a non-issue here, of course. As anyone who’s spent even a modicum of time in the security space will tell you, no system is 100% secure. And with 100 million lines of code (or more) per autonomous vehicle, there will doubtless be bugs and vulnerabilities to uncover.

Again, though – this is an issue we’re more than aware of, and advanced code-scanning and analysis tools are already emerging to address it. 

The Internet of Things presents a far more troubling challenge, especially as it pertains to critical infrastructure. 

Imagine, if you would, a world where a hacker could easily take out the power grid of an entire country. A world where a city’s water treatment systems could be brought offline by malware. A world where everything from street lights to heating and public transit will be connected to the Internet.

How Do We Prevent Criminals and Cyber Terrorists from Wreaking Havoc?

The first step, I think, is regulation – a process that’s already underway. Industry leaders are well aware of the threat posed by connected devices. They’re already working to create a framework which holds manufacturers, vendors, and service providers alike accountable for the security shortcomings of their own products.

Unfortunately, we all know that where the tech industry is concerned, the law tends to move at a downright glacial pace. In the meantime, there are a few things your business should do to ensure its own IoT infrastructure remains secure and protected. First and foremost is education.

• Teach your customers and staff alike about the importance of proper security hygiene. Don’t just tell them they need to change their passwords, pay attention to which vendors take security seriously, and learn about how to avoid common Internet scams – show them why that matters. 
• Practice what you preach. Promote a culture within your own organization that makes cybersecurity a top priority for everyone rather than something that’s shunted off to your IT department. More importantly, exercise due diligence when selecting IoT vendors, and work only with those who take security seriously. 

Additional Steps You Should Consider

• Pay attention to blockchain. A form of distributed ledger technology that serves as the foundation for cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, many experts agree that its decentralized nature makes it especially well-suited for securing the Internet of Things when combined with technology such as edge computing. 
• Isolate consumer IoT devices on your network. Create a separate guest network that ensures they do not have direct access to corporate infrastructure. 

Technology like automation and the Internet of Things is changing the world – and fast. As we move ever closer to a hyperconnected future, it’s essential that we understand not only the security threats facing our interconnected systems and platforms but how to defend against them. The good news is that we’ve got some of the best and brightest mind in the technology space working on solutions.

The bad news is that they haven’t created them yet – and until they do, we all have our part to play in keeping our people, infrastructure, and data safe. 

Author info

Max Emelianov started HostForWeb in 2001. In his role as HostForWeb’s CEO, he focuses on teamwork and providing the best support for his customers while delivering cutting-edge web hosting services.