Anywhere, Any-Stymie: Remote Activation of Trojan Malware on LiDAR with Modulated Signals
Researchers demonstrated that dormant malware embedded in LiDAR firmware can be remotely activated after deployment using a brief modulated optical signal, without needing network access or continuous attacker interaction. The attack involves sending a specific light sequence to trigger the malware, which then manipulates point clouds to cause safety-critical effects on autonomous vehicles. This highlights a significant security risk within the sensing pipeline that challenges traditional trust boundaries in autonomous systems.