Driverless cars face security MOT to defeat hackers

New rules aim to ensure AI vehicles are made safe against the threat of being controlled remotely

AUTONOMOUS cars will be subject to a “digital MOT” to test their defences against hackers, under Department for Transport plans.

Ministers have announced they are drawing up new standards for driverless vehicles that will set out how motorists can keep them roadworthy.

Alongside regular checks by vehicle mechanics, the cars will also have to be tested for cyber security and whether their artificial intelligence and navigation systems are operating to the standard required in a fully automated traffic system.

One of the main threats to driverless cars will be the ability of people to hack into and control them remotely.

The code is therefore expected to set out high standards for their cyber defences.

The new rules will also lay out the measures manufacturers will have to meet for their driverless vehicles to be allowed on the UK’S road.

The code is being developed to first give companies and academics the standards for testing the new technology, but will later become the rule for owners as driverless cars become more widely adopted.

The announcement comes as the Government yesterday unveiled the UK’S first “autonomous village” for testing driverless cars in Bedfordshire.

The Millbrook-culham testing centre, which already has a 40-mile test track, has been modernised via a £6.9million government grant with its own private mobile network and vehicle simulator suites.

The facility will be open for the roadtetsing of autonomous technology, and is the first to allow for testing of all elements of driverless cars such as the software, cyber security and sensors.

The centre should allow researchers to virtually simulate obstacles on the road by projecting holograms on to the windscreen of test vehicles.

Among the other projects to win funding for testing driverless cars are a live testing area in the Olympic Park in Stratford and a new speed testing track in Nuneaton.

The “digital MOT” move was welcomed by road safety charity Brake, which said driverless cars had the potential to drastically reduce road accidents. Joshua Harris, the charity’s director of campaigns, said: “Connected and autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to eliminate driver error and help put an end to the daily tragedy of deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

“It’s critical that these vehicles are robustly tested for safety before allowing them on our roads.

“We support the leading role being played by UK Government on this important agenda for safe mobility and the safety assurance regime will undoubtedly be fundamental to its future success.”