• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'

3

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'

3

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
Tech

Should You Worry About Your Car Being Hacked?

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 2, 2016, 5:31 PM ET
US-TECHNOLOGY-CAR
A self-driving car traverses a parking lot at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California on January 8, 2015. AFP PHOTO/NOAH BERGER / AFP / Noah Berger (Photo credit should read NOAH BERGER/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Noah Berger—AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Self-driving car technology is improving so quickly that experts believe that it will be mainstream in five years. However, that huge shift will inevitably open the door to hackers targeting autonomous vehicles with potentially dangerous results.

That’s one of the key takeaways from a presentation about the future of automobiles and cybersecurity during the RSA computer security conference in San Francisco on Monday. With more cars now loaded with wireless Internet connections, hackers have more ways break into car technology than ever before, according to auto research company Kelley Blue Book, which has issued a report about consumer attitudes about car hacking and autonomous vehicles.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Currently, the public doesn’t consider car hacking to be a big problem, according to the research, which is based on a survey of over a thousand people. The researchers found that most consumers consider distracted motorists and drunk drivers as two of the biggest safety concerns on the road.

Fears of cars being hacked turned out to be a relatively minor worry. It came in second to to last in a list of ten concerns, just ahead of carjackings, said Karl Brauer, a Kelley Blue Book senior director of automotive industry insights.

The attitude makes sense considering the average car on the road is around eleven years old, he explained. Older vehicles don’t have Internet connectivity, which makes them invulnerable to hacking.

However, when it comes to the cars of the future, respondents changed their tune. When the researchers asked respondents whether they are worried that future automobiles may be easily hacked, 62% of respondents said ‘yes.’ Additionally, over half of the respondents believed that car hacking will become a moderate to serious issue in the future.

The only publicly known case of vehicle hacking involved security researchers breaking into cars in controlled environments, explained Brauer.

Concerns about hacking haven’t deterred people from wanting the latest technology in their vehicles, however. New technology is a “make or break” factor for many consumers when choosing an automobile with one in three people saying it was important.

Over half those polled said they would be willing to pay for extra insurance to cover any losses from a vehicle hack. People were equally divided over whether vehicle manufactures should provide the insurance, the research showed.

When it comes to self-driving cars, the Kelly Blue Book experts explained that there would be many legal wrinkles to iron out because of the difficulty of determining who is liable for accidents. Is it the manufacturer who made the self-driving car or its owner?

For more on Google’s self driving cars, check out our video:

Brauer gave the example of a Google (GOOG) autonomous car that recently hit a bus. In that case, a test driver and the self-driving car incorrectly assumed that a bus would slow down when near the car, which led to a vehicle hitting the bus at less than 2 miles per hour.

Brauer said he recently discussed the matter with Google, which told him that it expects insurance companies or law enforcement to eventually decide who is at fault in such cases. Until then, the matter will continue to be a subject of debate.

In any case, Brauer said cars of the future like Google’s experimental vehicles will eventually have so many cameras, sensors, and data recording capabilities that “it better not be your fault” if human error causes a crash. Car manufactures will be easily able to determine who is responsible by reviewing all the imbedded technology.

“Nothing is going to happen to a connected car that will be a mystery,” said Brauer.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Insilico Medicine, SK Biopharmaceuticals strike $2.5B AI drug discovery deal targeting neuroimmune therapies
AsiaPharmaceutical Industry
Insilico Medicine, SK Biopharmaceuticals strike $2.5B AI drug discovery deal targeting neuroimmune therapies
By Nicholas GordonJune 22, 2026
3 hours ago
Steve Jobs became a billionaire thanks to a Pixar gamble. Now ‘Toy Story 5’ is breaking box office records thanks to that bet
Arts & EntertainmentSteve Jobs
Steve Jobs became a billionaire thanks to a Pixar gamble. Now ‘Toy Story 5’ is breaking box office records thanks to that bet
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 22, 2026
3 hours ago
Nvidia says its new data center design will fix AI’s water problem
EnvironmentNvidia
Nvidia says its new data center design will fix AI’s water problem
By Jacqueline MunisJune 22, 2026
5 hours ago
Drowning in AI: Companies are launching hundreds of projects, and that’s a problem
Future of WorkBrainstorm Tech
Drowning in AI: Companies are launching hundreds of projects, and that’s a problem
By Jeff John RobertsJune 22, 2026
6 hours ago
Protesters at an anti-data center rally in Orangeburg, New York.
AIData centers
Tech companies dealing with data center protests locally are fighting a losing battle: Only 8% of opponents actually live near one
By Tristan BoveJune 22, 2026
7 hours ago
China sanctions 10 U.S. defense companies in tit-for-tat response to Pentagon’s Chinese military list
North AmericaChina
China sanctions 10 U.S. defense companies in tit-for-tat response to Pentagon’s Chinese military list
By The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Success
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
By Preston ForeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
11 hours ago
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
Success
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
By Emma BurleighJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
12 hours ago
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
Success
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
By Nick LichtenbergJune 17, 2026
6 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.