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The future of transport is intelligent, connected and increasingly autonomous. But while connectivity looks set to make exciting improvements to the way we travel, experts are warning of risks that need to be addressed to keep the vehicles on our roads safe from cyber threats.

For many years Hollywood has presented us with images of future cities buzzing with autonomous transport. In San Francisco, Google’s driverless cars already navigate the world-famous twists and turns of Lombard Street. The confident presumption, inside and outside of today’s transport industry, is that the conventional car is about to get much smarter. Research predicts that connectivity will become an important feature of the global car market and will be worth €39bn to the transport sector by 2018.

Most modern vehicles are already ‘connected’ in lots of ways. Internal networks link together many devices at the heart of a vehicle. And increasingly, cars are equipped with wireless networks that enable connection with smart phones and navigation devices, for example.

Today’s vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology enables cars to communicate with each other over temporary networks. This innovation has the ability to identify road hazards and improve driving efficiency by adjusting breaking force and timing, as well as influence the route the vehicle takes.

As vehicles become more connected they also become components in a diverse and wide-reaching network

As vehicles become more connected they also become components in a diverse and wide-reaching network – one that has the potential to revolutionise how we travel by bringing together infrastructure, services and vehicles as an effective, cooperating nexus.

Efficiency is often cited as a key benefit, with vehicles able to plot routes requiring the minimum amount of time and fuel. An almost fully connected infrastructure will also be possible – traffic can be managed more easily and appropriate parking spaces can be quickly located.

These benefits and improvements are a potential boon to the market. Manufacturers throughout the supply chain are preparing for the evolutionary leap that road transportation is on the verge of. Although cyber security is more familiar territory for other industries, the automotive and transport industry is aware that potential threats must be addressed. Admittedly, cyber security was not a priority issue within the industry until relatively recently, when malicious hackers began to target retail point-of-sale devices and online games. However, it is now being taken very seriously.

Road vehicles can and will remain safe, especially if we stay forward thinking and are prepared to learn from other industries on cyber security

In a report recently published by our organisations - the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) - we examined the motivations behind cyber-attacks and internet-based crime. A common motivator is data theft – and the cars of the future could potentially be a target. They could hold bank details for automatic toll payments, for example, as well as details about passengers, such as their driving licence information. At the most severe end of the scale, cyber security threats extend to terrorism and sabotage.

But road vehicles can and will remain safe, especially if we stay forward thinking and are prepared to learn from other industries that have dealt with cyber security issues for many years. The report from the IET and KTN was intended to stimulate informed discussion about this issue and to encourage inter-industry cross-fertilisation. It makes the following recommendations:

• Further consultation between the automotive industry and other industries already addressing cyber security challenges
• Supporting the development of professional disciplines focussed on addressing automotive cyber security and autonomous vehicles
• Continued and more in-depth research into – and analysis of – issues like driver responsibility and attributing liability in cyber security incidents

The full report, which contains a more detailed analysis of the subjects and issues discussed above,  is available on both the IET and KTN websites.