A crash sensor is a vehicle device that detects impact forces and helps decide whether the conditions are severe enough to trigger safety actions such as airbag deployment. It usually works with control electronics and other sensors, so the system can compare acceleration, direction, and impact timing against a deployment threshold.
In cyber security, crash sensors matter because they are part of a safety-critical cyber-physical system. If an attacker can tamper with sensor wiring, spoof inputs, or interfere with the control unit or diagnostics, the restraint system may deploy incorrectly or fail to deploy when needed. Defenses focus on authenticated service tools, tamper-resistant design, sensor cross-checks, and validation logic that rejects implausible data. In practice, the sensor is not just a physical part; it is a trusted input to a larger automated decision process.