Car-Hacking Expert: Autonomous Cars Would Be Terrible Drug Mules
The dawn of the digital era is already upon us and it’s going to be marked by the introduction of autonomous technologies. The introduction of self-driving cars is not a new development, its production has been touted over the years and its production and sale are imminently drawing closer. Already, some self-autonomous cars have been tried but since the technology is not yet perfected, the cars are not yet available for mass production and sale.
While the news of self-autonomous vehicles is a welcome development at least, it creates an alternative to the regular petrol-powered vehicles, concerns about safety especially from the threat of hacking is quite worrisome. Another concern is the impact self-autonomous vehicles could have on crime as it could help facilitate and boost criminal activities in the society. This article will examine the compatibility or incompatibility of autonomous cars and crime.
Autonomous Vehicles and Crime
According to a reported claim by late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s brother, Tesla Autopilot was instrumental in delivering drugs. If this claim is anything to go by then autonomous vehicles could become a great aid for criminals to operate undetected. By implication, this could make the work of law enforcement tougher and more complex as they struggle to combat drug peddlers they would also have to increase surveillance to self-driving cars plying the roads.
Self-driving cars will likely not come cheap but would be nonetheless affordable for high-end criminals who may want to expand their illicit franchise. They could partner with hackers to hack the systems of autonomous cars and compromise it to serve their anti-social objectives. For instance, the cars may be programmed to drive past surveillance checkpoints or the drugs may simply be hidden in a remote place in the car to discharge it at the designated or programmed location.
Anti Crime and not Pro Crime
Actually, rather than encouraging crime, autonomous vehicles will rather be risky and unsafe for criminals especially drug mules. The very nature of self-driving cars makes them incompatible with criminal activities as they may be easily traced and tracked by law enforcement agents thereby jeopardizing the anonymity of the criminal. When autonomous cars become easily accessible and available for commercial sale the role of law enforcement would be easier if everyone can switch to using self-driving cars. This is because their reliance on technology means they would be easier to track even without much effort.
Hence, investigating the movement of the cars if used by criminals would make criminal investigation a lot easier. Issues such as where the vehicle took off from, where it stopped for passengers to alight and its final destination may be easily tracked and this could very much compromise the activities of criminals rather than complement it. It would almost literally be foolhardy for a criminal to resort to using autonomous cars solely for criminal activities.
A self-driving vehicle will most likely come with preinstalled cameras which would enable it to be accessible to the company’s servers. If criminals are brazen enough to attempt to circumvent all of these monitoring devices fitted into the cars then they would have their work well cut out for them. This is because the safety of the cars would be dependent on their connectivity to the control server and when this connectivity is compromised even in a small way, then the safety of the occupants of the vehicle may also be jeopardized. Autonomous vehicles will hold so much data even more than the regular cars; hence, it would be a darling of security agencies and this would make it fancied by law-abiding citizens and dreaded by the criminal minded ones.
Whether you are driving autonomous or not, you must enhance the security of your car to prevent it from being accessible to criminals. As the years go by, criminals seem to be increasing in their dexterity hence the need for car owners to also be prepared.
Apart from the incidence of drug mules, the issue of car theft may also be on the increase. You must be a step ahead by ensuring the safety of your car. One way to counter the incidence of car theft is to install high-tech car security. The more advanced the security of your car, the more difficult it would be for criminals to get in. With cars susceptible to hacks from the internet of things and increased advancement in technology. The need to secure autonomous vehicle becomes a very paramount issue, hence the need to get the best and most sophisticated technology to stay ahead of theft.