The recent boom in innovative automotive technology means that cars of the future will only get smarter. The age of a full autonomous vehicle is imminent. Innovative technological features such as lane-change alerts, self-parking, and emergency-braking assist are fast becoming standard features for most modern vehicles.

These technologies have done a good job of laying the foundation for assisted driving and, inevitably, autonomous vehicles. It is expected with merit that connected and autonomous vehicles will alter business models for car manufacturers, dealers, repair workshops, and environmentalists. In addition to this, connected technologies will also allow car manufacturers to maintain an after-market engagement once the vehicle’s service plan has expired.

For the benefit of the society, connected cars will bring about the possibility of a “smart city” by sending information to authorities regarding the quality and state of the roads, the timing of traffic lights, the development of mass transit commuter networks, and other important information designed to improve the driving experience.

However, security of the connected automotive vehicle is a major issue. The possibility of hackers taking control of vehicles by hacking network systems is a thorny issue of the incubation of autonomous vehicles. Next-generation cars could potentially be hacked and controlled from afar.

Other concerning factors of autonomous cars include the possibility that cars may hold the key to financial data such as paying for fuel or parking and personal such your daily movements. These concerns are in line with the findings of a survey conducted by the Mobile World Live where 59 percent of respondents expressed concern over hacking, malware and viruses.

Although there are all these red flags, there is an exciting future ahead for automotive technology should car manufactures successfully resolve security concerns. But for now, security will continue to haunt the topic and gestation of autonomous vehicles.

“To capture the new opportunities, everybody in the ecosystem must come together to deliver on the innovation vision, while ensuring absolute data protection, privacy, and user safety,” says Anton Jacobsz, MD at Networks Unlimited.