If a bad actor hacked a city’s traffic signals, what would be the impact?
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student Marc Jacquet has investigated this hypothetical scenario, applying artificial intelligence to study the effects of cyberthreats to traffic management systems.
As more cities adopt smart, connected traffic systems, they could be vulnerable to cyberthreats that exploit networked or software-based vulnerabilities. If traffic lights are hacked and the timing of signals is changed, the results could risk safety, create commuter congestion and delay emergency response times.
“Everyone knows that transportation and traffic management systems are crucial to our daily lives, but no one knows how to protect them or respond strategically to the ever-growing cyber threats to these systems,” said Dr. Yongxin Liu, assistant professor of Data Science. “Marc’s work is the first to model a real city and evaluate the mentioned challenges.”
Jaquet, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Data Science, was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation for his innovative research, earning the University Transportation Centers (UTC) Outstanding Student of the Year Award.
“Realizing I won a federal award was kind of surreal, and it still hasn’t sunk in,” said Jacquet, who received the award at a ceremony held by the Transportation Department, in collaboration with the Council of University Transportation Centers, in Washington, D.C.
He was nominated for the honor by Liu, who is working with him on cybersecurity research related to transportation systems as part of the Transportation Department’s CYBER-CARE project.
Jacquet and his family attended an awards ceremony in Washington D.C., where he was recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation for his innovative research (Photo: Embry-Riddle/Dr. Yunpeng Zhang)
CYBER-CARE, which stands for USDOT Tier 1 UTC Transportation Cybersecurity Center for Advanced Research and Education, comprises a consortium of researchers from six universities, including Embry-Riddle. Dr. Hongyun Chen, associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, and Dr. Dahai Liu, a professor in the College of Aviation’s School of Graduate Studies, also helped Jacquet with his research and provided feedback.
For his research project, Jacquet used traffic data to build a hackable digital map of about 20 traffic lights at busy intersections in the city of Daytona Beach, Florida.
He set up computer simulations to see what would happen if those traffic systems were hacked and the traffic light patterns were changed.
Many of the lights were on International Speedway Boulevard, the gateway to the city and the main drag adjacent to NASCAR’s famed track. He found that when hacked, one intersection of International Speedway Boulevard and Clyde Morris Boulevard had the most impact on local traffic.
“In the future, especially with more self-driving cars, a hacker could really disrupt the traffic flow and affect a whole city quickly,” said Jacquet. “For example, when we made a traffic light red for two to three minutes, there were impacts minutes later in other parts of the city.”
Jacquet’s findings could help other cities build their own traffic simulations and be used for cybersecurity and strategic policy-making, Liu said.
Jacquet’s award-winning research has allowed him to merge his math skills with AI and cybersecurity to tackle real-world problems.
From Scarborough, Maine, Jacquet earned his B.S. in Computational Mathematics from Embry-Riddle and was a student assistant at the university’s Undergraduate Advising office. He worked with academic advisor Mary Chilson, who helped him discover his current career path in data science, he said.
“Marc’s ability to navigate challenges thoughtfully, including finding the right academic path, speaks to his resilience and drive,” said Chilson, who is associate director of Academic Advising.
Jacquet, who will graduate this spring, would like to work in data analytics, potentially related to space or sports, which are two of his passions.
“I am just trying to ride the wave and make my professors and family proud,” he said.
Posted In: Applied Science | Research | Security Intelligence and Safety
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