Analysing Cyber Challenges: Towards Enhancing Autonomous Vehicle Cybersecurity Resilience

Autonomous vehicles’ rise in society represents an important technological advancement in the transportation sector, promising improved financial investments, mobility, and efficiency. Connectivity to cloud-based or fifth generation cellular networks increases autonomous vehicles’ exposure to cyber threats, compromising vehicle safety, privacy, and economic stability. Ensuring resilient cyber security measures are critical for safeguarding transportation’s critical infrastructure. This paper presents a taxonomy of cyber attacks and mitigation mechanisms of autonomous vehicles. Analysis of recent literature reveals a diverse range of threats, from Global Positioning System spoofing to malware attacks, countered by mitigation mechanisms, such as cryptography, software and network security solutions. Examination of current challenges has identified several future research directions, such as architectural solutions and adversarial machine learning, presenting continuous opportunities for innovation and advancement in the transportation field. Developing robust cyber security mechanisms is essential to closing the gap in protecting autonomous vehicles and ensuring the integrity of transportation infrastructure.