Security of Autonomous Systems Employing Embedded Computing and Sensors

Embedded computing and sensor systems are increasingly becoming an integral part of today's infrastructure. From jet engines to vending machines, our society relies on embedded computing and sensor systems to support numerous applications seamlessly and reliably. This is especially true with respect to autonomous systems such as unmanned aircraft, unmanned ground vehicles, robotics, medical operations, and industrial automation. However, given society's increasing reliance on embedded computing and sensor systems as well as the applications they support, this introduces a new form of vulnerability into this critical infrastructure that is only now beginning to be recognized as a significant threat with potentially serious consequences. This column presents the latest insights on the technical challenges and opportunities associated with the security of autonomous systems from an embedded computing and sensors perspective.