"Government Action Needed to Ensure Insurance Against Major Hacking of Driverless Vehicles, Experts Warn"
Matthew Channon from the University of Exeter and James Marson from Sheffield Hallam University conducted a study, suggesting that government action is needed for driverless cars to be insured against malicious hacks. Driverless vehicles use software that makes it possible for them to communicate with each other. This type of software is being used and tested on public transport and is expected to be implemented into private vehicles in the future. Although the technology can improve transport safety, if it were to be hacked by malicious actors, it could lead to major accidents and damages to fleets of vehicles, potentially resulting in financial loss, injury, and death. Traditional vehicle insurance would not cover the mass hacking of driverless cars, and such an incident could result in great financial loss for the industry. Existing liability systems are said to be inadequate or inapplicable to driverless vehicles. Channon said it is impossible to measure the risk of driverless vehicles being hacked, but it is essential to prepare. The researchers recommend the introduction of an insurance-backed "Maliciously Compromised Connected Vehicle Agreement" to compensate low-cost hacks and a guarantee fund backed by the government to compensate high-cost hacks. This article continues to discuss the study calling on the government to help ensure insurance against the mass hacking of driverless vehicles and why this type of insurance is important.