When you have 100,000 self-driving cars on the road, and someone figures out how to hack them, and drive them simultaneously into crowds, that will be a BIG BIG problem.

And this problem isn't just about self-driving cars. It is a fundamental issue with all algorithms. It's a lot harder to hack humans to do bad things (although it can be done with sustained messaging and propaganda). But algorithms can be compromised and exploited.

I'd say, it's probably easier to hack individual humans, but - like everything in computing - hacking algorithms scales well, while human factors generally don't.

First, they're not physically inspectable by every Tom, Dick, and Harry. This means it's easier to obscure interfaces and other potential areas of attack. Not state-actor proof, but probably ISIS-proof. Second, they only get software updates while parked at an airport, so it makes MITM attacks harder (though not impossible). Third, they're in the air where death isn't a sudden movement away. Pilots can override the system and fly it manually. Fourth, they're heavily monitored with errant flightpaths reported to militaries around the world (to stop another 9/11).

We have none of these safeguards for self-driving cars and there are going to be hundreds of millions of them.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33650491

https://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/3020901/dhs-team-manage...

How autonomous systems will make anything different? Why do you believe people aren't currently hacking cars?

I don't intend to be critical at all, I believe this is a very interesting point too that should be discussed. (I hope to check the links on my interval).

> How autonomous systems will make anything different? Why do you believe people aren't currently hacking cars?

It might make always on data connections near-mandatory (to get maps data, etc). At least in my car, the insecure embedded computers are air-gapped from the internet.

Part of the reason is that, in current ecosystem, companies will find ways in which self-driving requires being constantly on-line and connected to vendor's server. Off-line processing is not in fashion these days.