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60 Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities Connected and Autonomous Vehicles 61

been accessed by unauthorized users. There is also a perception that wireless
communication links are not as secure as wireline. This raises concerns regard-
ing the use of wireless communications for connected and autonomous ve-
hicles. If managed appropriately, however, wireless communications can be just
as secure as wireline [7].
The caveat is “if it is managed appropriately.” Encryption and passwords
can be used to make a wireless communication link secure, and it seems to me
that people regularly trade security for convenience. It can be convenient to not
have to enter a password, or to use one so weak that it is easily remembered—
but such weakness also eases the path for hackers.
The use of strong passwords and encryption is key to the appropriate
management of wireless communication links to ensure security. It is also im-
portant to balance cybersecurity with physical security. If a savvy criminal can
talk you out of your password information, then the strength of the security is
irrelevant. Also, if an unscrupulous vehicle technician has direct access to your
connected autonomous vehicle, the security of your wireless communication
link may be a moot point.
A balanced approach to security, requiring consideration of both cyber
and physical security, enables a wireless communication link to be suitably se-
cure while providing ease of use to the driver. The most secure system in the
world would not allow the user to access it!

Driver Education
At a congestion pricing symposium just outside of London, a few years ago, a
psychologist from the transport research laboratory noted the following:

If you drive by habit you’re immune to new information.

As vehicle systems become more complicated and infrastructure becomes
more flexible with dynamically allocated lanes, part-time hard shoulder run-
ning, variable speed limits, and dynamic routing, there may be a need to con-
sider driver education. It would seem reasonable that as the information tech-
nology content of the vehicle and transportation infrastructure increase that
more complete training may have to be provided to the user.
Another way to address this particular challenge would be to ensure that
user interfaces are well enough designed to support the needs of the average
driver. A well-defined user interface allows the user to focus on the content and
the task at hand, rather than trying to understand the underlying technology.
When watching TV, the focus is on the content and not on understanding how
TV works.
At a telematics conference in 2014 [8], it was stated that, at that time,
there were more than 173 software applications available for use in the vehicle.