Human Factors of Vehicular Cyberattacks
Project Overview
The Human Factors of Vehicular Cyberattacks project investigates how drivers respond when connected vehicle systems provide compromised or misleading information. The work focuses on the human side of transportation cybersecurity: whether drivers detect cyberattacks, how they distinguish attacks from system malfunctions, how trust in automation changes, and how driving performance is affected under deceptive connected-vehicle conditions.
This project is conducted in collaboration with Morgan State University through the National Center for Transportation Cybersecurity and Resiliency (TraCR). It combines Clemson University’s suburban driving simulation environment with Morgan State University’s urban simulation environment to compare driver behavior across different roadway contexts. The research supports safer connected vehicle design, improved driver education, and more realistic human-in-the-loop cybersecurity testing methods.
Phase I: Driver Behavior Under Cyberattacks
The first phase developed a simulator-based testbed for studying driver behavior under cyberattacks in connected vehicle environments. The study examined how driver characteristics, psychological factors, technology familiarity, and cognitive abilities shape cyberattack detection and response.
The project focused on compromised connected-vehicle information, including falsified warnings and misleading system cues. Driving performance measures such as speed, acceleration, lane discipline, headway, response time, and decision making are used to understand how cyberattacks influence safety-critical behavior.
Phase II: Cyberattack Injection Modules and Scenario Library
The second phase extends the testbed into reusable cyberattack research infrastructure. The team is developing Cyberattack Injection Modules for major driving simulation platforms used at Morgan State and Clemson, including modules for vehicle-centered and infrastructure-centered attacks.
This phase expands from compromised vehicle warnings to attacks on connected infrastructure, including falsified signal phase and timing information and phantom traffic signal messages. The project also develops an Attack Scenario Library that documents attack configurations, implementation parameters, human factors relevance, and recommendations for researchers and practitioners.
Expected Impact
The project will help researchers, transportation agencies, and vehicle technology developers evaluate connected vehicle systems under realistic cyberattack conditions. By focusing on driver perception, trust, and behavior, the work supports countermeasures that are not only technically resilient but also understandable and usable by human drivers.
Funding
- Funding source: National Center for Transportation Cybersecurity and Resiliency (TraCR), a USDOT National Transportation Center led by Morgan State University.
- Phase I award: $124,998 total UTC budget, including $80,584 for Clemson University.
- Phase II award: $88,000 total UTC budget, including $60,000 for Clemson University.
- Combined funded amount: $212,998 across both phases, including $140,584 for Clemson University.
- Project period: Jan 2025 – May 2027.
Project Team
- Dr. Shubham Agrawal
- Dr. Dustin Souders
- Trent Simmons
- National Transportation Center @ Morgan State University