San Francisco · California · AI Safety · Fortune Technology
A San Francisco ‘tech prankster’ got 50 Waymos ordered onto the same street, exposing robotaxis’ cyber/airbag problem
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There once was a time when most cars on the road did not have air bags as a standard under federal law.
Key facts
- Meanwhile, Alphabet-owned Waymo has expanded from its beginnings in Arizona to 11 major U.S. cities—even pairing with rideshare company Uber in a few cities
- The DDOS came despite rules from California, where Waymo operates service in San Francisco and Los Angeles, that require autonomous vehicle manufacturers to demonstrate they can safely monitor
- While Hollywood often depicts hackers remotely hijacking an entire vehicle, experts say modern attacks are more likely to target the broader ecosystem surrounding autonomous cars
- The prank consisted of 50 individuals simultaneously ordering a Waymo on the same dead-end street, creating a pileup that made the company disable rides until the next morning
Summary
Louay Abdelkader, director of product management at QNX, identified it as a huge problem for the sector, “of course … keep in mind that in automotive safety, it took a while for it to adopt.” Abdelkader told Fortune lawmakers should make cybersecurity a primary consideration akin to airbags, noting that every connected vehicle introduces some degree of cyber risk. Much of the debate over robotaxis has focused elsewhere, such as whether they are indeed smart enough to avoid collisions, how insurance companies should assign liability in an accident, or how police can deal with driverless cars that commit traffic violations. Abdelkader told Fortune lawmakers should make cybersecurity a primary consideration, noting that every connected vehicle introduces some degree of cyber risk.