Blackberry Says Autonomous Cars Could Be Hacked Into “Fully Loaded Weapons”

Security is an issue that shouldn’t be taken lightly; and as there weren’t too many threats out there already, self-driving vehicles can (or should?) be added to that list.

Blackberry chief executive John Chen has warned that autonomous cars could be hacked and deployed as “fully loaded weapons.” The technology company is currently developing self-driving technologies with Chinese internet search giant Baidu, but is still wary of the risks driverless cars carry.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Chen said these vehicles carry more lines of code than a typical fighter jet, giving hackers enormous scope to hack them and cause havoc.

“A car could easily be infected with viruses [and] is literally a fully loaded weapon. If hackers can get hold of it, you can imagine what they could do.

“I can create a car I think is 90 per cent virus free, but as soon as that car gets on the road and is being used, those conditions need to be regularly checked,” Chen said.

Blackberry doesn’t think autonomous cars will take off commercially for at least another five years, despite many tech giants and car manufacturers expecting them much sooner. According to Chen, there remain lots of challenges that need to be overcome before self-driving vehicles hit the roads en masse.

“Regulation and safety and security tech needs to be established well before I think anyone should allow the cars on the road. The self-driving car still has a lot of human error and safety control.”

Driverless vehicles will also prove a challenge for insurance companies and lawmakers, who have to decided on who will be deemed liable in the event of an accident.

It remains to be seen how progressed Blackberry’s autonomous car technology is but,l late last year, the technology company published a seven-pillar approach which it hopes carmakers will adopt to address cybersecurity concerns of autonomous vehicles.