LONDON — 21 August 2018 — Road accidents killed more than 1.4 million people worldwide in 2016. Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in autonomous vehicles (AVs) and connected vehicles (CVs) have the potential to add to that grisly total. These vehicles present new opportunities for a company’s mobility services, improved logistics and shipping, public transportation, service delivery, customer engagement, and more. However, new risks come with those opportunities.

“Many of today’s personal CVs are connected via third-party app APIs, Wi-Fi, or the manufacturer’s own cloud, and nearly all AVs are connected,” says Forrester Principal Analyst Merritt Maxim. “Every new communication path opens new vulnerabilities. Early research and incidents make it clear that CVs are not secure. While AVs have the potential to reduce deaths from vehicle-related accidents and improve safety, security and risk (S&R) pros must closely assess these vehicles, their components, and the supporting ecosystem for cybersecurity flaws.”

Security issues have a detrimental impact on companies. Security incidents will:

  • Damage the brand and increase operational costs.
  • Undermine consumer trust and threaten future adoption.

Since this is an emerging market, most vendors have focused on addressing individual security capabilities. This means that there is generally a clear distinction between vendor capabilities, but it also requires S&R pros to evaluate and integrate solutions from multiple vendors. As this market matures, Forrester expects both new market entrants and more integration within and across functional categories, which will help security teams realize a comprehensive vehicle security architecture.

Forrester’s Zero Trust security principles (all network traffic is inherently untrusted) should guide any cybersecurity strategy for CVs or AVs.

Forrester has produced extensive research on this subject identifying risks and solutions.

How To Secure Connected And Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous Vehicles Will Reshape The Global Economy

The State Of IoT Security 2018

The Top Five Emerging Technologies Security Leaders Need To Prepare For

To find out more and talk to our analysts, please contact Chiara Carella, Public Relations Europe, ccarella@forrester.com.