As autonomous technologies continue to evolve and change our concepts of driving, Durham College (DC) joined industry leaders at the third annual Future of Transportation and Mobility Series. Held virtually in March, the event drew close to 400 attendees across 25 different countries.

With Ontario preparing its infrastructure to accommodate autonomous vehicles, experts explored new challenges to security, highlighting key areas for consideration, such as privacy and compliance. Danny Aniag, professor for DC’s Cybersecurity graduate certificate program and Ali Hirji, project manager, Hub for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence for Business Solutions, discussed the role of existing cybersecurity frameworks and their application to new trends in the autonomous vehicle industry.

“Technical advancements in the autonomous vehicle field are strong and consistent, however, end users must be educated on the new frontiers of cybersecurity threats,” explained Ali. “As connectivity increases, there will be an exponential increase of vulnerabilities, and security by design will be a fundamental framework to securing code on the go.”

DC is a member of the Durham Regional Technology Development Site (RTDS), alongside Ontario Tech University and Spark Centre. The college was a presenting sponsor of this three-day event, which was a joint collaboration with Innovation Factory, Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility (Hamilton’s RTDS) and the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN).

“Discussing these advancements with members of the autonomous technology community helps raise awareness and encourage safe and secure practices for the future,” said Danny. “As the autonomous vehicle sector emerges, new cybersecurity challenges will surface, which pose new threats without appropriate proactive measures.”

Since 2018, DC has been a proud partner of the Ontario Centres of Innovation’s AVIN project. The initiative brings together industry, academia and government to capitalize on the economic opportunities of connected and autonomous vehicles, while supporting the province’s transportation systems and infrastructure in adapting to these emerging technologies.

“Engaging with members of the autonomous technology community provides DC’s subject matter experts insight into the latest industry challenges, which can then be addressed through new collaborations with partners to develop meaningful solutions,” said Debbie McKee Demczyk, dean, Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

DC’s continued collaborations in the emerging field of autonomous technology will support the identification and implementation of necessary cybersecurity and data protection measures in order to better prepare for connected and autonomous vehicle adoption.

To learn more about DC’s Autonomous Vehicle Applied Research (AVAR), please visit https://durhamcollege.ca/avar.