Study finds hacking self-driving vehicles could rock major cities

As new technology emerges, self-driving cars are revolutionizing the way we look at automobiles.

The automotive industry and policymakers need to be on high alert for what could go wrong when it comes to automated vehicles, according to a new study.

The Georgia Institute of Technology has found that hackers could wreak havoc by hacking self-driving cars in big cities during rush hour to shut down traffic.

Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology Executive Director Parham Eftekhari said there's a lot of scenarios where this could go wrong.

"You're a nation-state and you want to attack a major metropolitan area and create panic and you realize that there's 100,000 self-driving cars out there--hack into the cars, stop as many of them as possible and that's maybe your first step in creating mass panic in an area as part of a coordinated campaign," said Eftekhari.

He said it's a national security situation, not just a matter of public safety.

"Bad actors can hack into cars and essentially take them over. Can you imagine being on the highway and half the cars all the sudden stopping and the gridlock that that could ensue in major metropolitan areas," said Eftekhari.

He said while we don't want to overregulate, manufacturers and legislators need to be aware of the risks that come with new technology.