Connected vehicles have been around for a few years and advances are being made to them that enable the vehicles to become self-driving – autonomous vehicles. Progressive innovative organizations have begun strategic planning for the influx of automated self-driving connected vehicles. Recently, the global connected autonomous vehicles (only the vehicle) market figure is expected to grow at a CAGR of 39.6% from now to 2027 and it will reaching $126 billion USD. Some estimates project the entire market associated with these vehicles vary greatly with the overall market projected to grow to possibly $7 trillion in the next few decades. The issues associated with this technological advancement has caught the attention of regulators and the legal community. In addition, there are a few global law firms that have already announced connected autonomous vehicles as a specialty practice area. All of this combines to impact law enforcement and that impact has already begun.
Cyber attack threats that target connected autonomous vehicles are real threats that face manufactures, aftermarket suppliers and service providers given the increasing complexity of the product and an extremely difficult problem to address given the highly distributed supply chain, and the interaction of all these systems with their surroundings. Law enforcement will be impacted by the evolution of connected autonomous vehicles in unique ways. The announcement by auto manufacturers that they will be produced by 2020 shows that this is rapidly becoming an issue for law enforcement. Multiple government /regulatory organizations have begun to look at the issues that accompany connected autonomous vehicles. This program will provide members of law enforcement a basic understanding of this rapidly emerging threat. It will examine the evolution of this development with the associated timeline. It will also examine the criminal and terrorist actions that could be focused on connected autonomous vehicles.