Human Factors in the Cybersecurity of Autonomous Vehicles: Trends in Current Research

The cybersecurity of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is an important emerging area of research in traffic safety. Because human failure is the most common reason for a successful cyberattack, human-factor researchers and psychologists might improve AV cybersecurity by researching how to decrease the probability of a successful attack. We review some areas of research connected to the human factor in cybersecurity and find many potential issues. Psychologists might research the characteristics of people prone to cybersecurity failure, the types of scenarios they fail in and the factors that influence this failure or over-trust of AV. Human behavior during a cyberattack might be researched, as well as how to educate people about cybersecurity. Multitasking has an effect on the ability to defend against a cyberattack and research is needed to set the appropriate policy. Human-resource researchers might investigate the skills required for personnel working in AV cybersecurity and how to detect potential defectors early. The psychological profile of cyber attackers should be investigated to be able to set policies to decrease their motivation. Finally, the decrease of driver’s driving skills as a result of using AV and its connection to cybersecurity skills is also worth of research

Complete genome sequences of two strains of <i>Treponema pallidum</i> subsp. <i>pertenue</i> from Ghana, Africa: Identical genome sequences in samples isolated more than 7 years apart

<div><p>Background</p><p><i>Treponema pallidum</i> subsp. <i>pertenue</i> (TPE) is the causative agent of yaws, a multi-stage disease, endemic in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America. To date, four TPE strains have been completely sequenced including three TPE strains of human origin (Samoa D, CDC-2, and Gauthier) and one TPE strain (Fribourg-Blanc) isolated from a baboon. All TPE strains are highly similar to <i>T</i>. <i>pallidum</i> subsp. <i>pallidum</i> (TPA) strains. The mutation rate in syphilis and related treponemes has not been experimentally determined yet.</p><p>Methodology/Principal findings</p><p>Complete genomes of two TPE strains, CDC 2575 and Ghana-051, that infected patients in Ghana and were isolated in 1980 and 1988, respectively, were sequenced and analyzed. Both strains had identical consensus genome nucleotide sequences raising the question whether TPE CDC 2575 and Ghana-051 represent two different strains. Several lines of evidence support the fact that both strains represent independent samples including regions showing intrastrain heterogeneity (13 and 5 intrastrain heterogeneous sites in TPE Ghana-051 and TPE CDC 2575, respectively). Four of these heterogeneous sites were found in both genomes but the frequency of alternative alleles differed. The identical consensus genome sequences were used to estimate the upper limit of the yaws treponeme evolution rate, which was 4.1 x 10⁻¹⁰ nucleotide changes per site per generation.</p><p>Conclusions/Significance</p><p>The estimated upper limit for the mutation rate of TPE was slightly lower than the mutation rate of <i>E</i>. <i>coli</i>, which was determined during a long-term experiment. Given the known diversity between TPA and TPE genomes and the assumption that both TPA and TPE have a similar mutation rate, the most recent common ancestor of syphilis and yaws treponemes appears to be more than ten thousand years old and likely even older.</p></div

Differences between rabbit chromosomal DNA of New Zealand White rabbits in the Ghana-051, CDC 2575, Sei Geringging, and CDC-2 samples.

<p>Differences between rabbit chromosomal DNA of New Zealand White rabbits in the Ghana-051, CDC 2575, Sei Geringging, and CDC-2 samples.</p

Treponemal genes with detected intrastrain heterogeneity.

<p>Treponemal genes with detected intrastrain heterogeneity.</p

An unrooted tree constructed from whole genome sequence alignments from available TPE and TEN genomes.

<p>The tree was constructed using the Maximum Likelihood method based on Tamura-Nei model and MEGA7 software [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005894#pntd.0005894.ref015" target="_blank">15</a>]. Bootstrap values based on 1,000 replications are shown next to the branches. <b>A.</b> An unrooted tree constructed from the whole genome sequence alignment of TPE and TEN genome sequences. The bar scale corresponds to a difference of 0.00010 nucleotides. <b>B.</b> An unrooted tree constructed from the whole genome sequence alignment of TPE and TEN genome sequences. The bar scale corresponds to a difference of 0.00005 nucleotides. <i>tprK</i> sequences, both rRNA operons, <i>tprD</i>, <i>arp</i>, and TP0470 genes were omitted from the analysis. Deletion of these regions resulted in a modified tree topology due to: (1) differences between the two possible constitutional states for the rRNA operons [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005894#pntd.0005894.ref019" target="_blank">19</a>], (2) the presence of two <i>tprD</i> alleles in the TPE population (<i>tprD</i> and <i>tprD2</i>; [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005894#pntd.0005894.ref020" target="_blank">20</a>]), and (3) differences in the number of repetitions in the <i>arp</i> and TP0470 genes.</p

Basic characteristics of the TPE Ghana-051 and TPE CDC 2575 genomes and their comparison to published TPE CDC-2 and Gauthier genomes.

<p>Basic characteristics of the TPE Ghana-051 and TPE CDC 2575 genomes and their comparison to published TPE CDC-2 and Gauthier genomes.</p

Intrastrain heterogeneity found in TPE Ghana-051 and TPE CDC 2575 genomes.

<p>Minor alleles with a frequency over 8% are shown.</p