The era of the Internet of Things is fast expanding, giving rise to serious concerns about data privacy across various industries. Notably, motor vehicle manufacturers are making forays into digital infotainment, navigation systems, and autonomous driving technologies, but the question remains – are they paying sufficient attention to customer data protection?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has extensive regulatory powers in terms of passenger vehicle safety, but the responsibility of safeguarding consumer privacy ultimately falls to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Despite this, it appears that there has been a lack of significant steps by either regulatory body in investigating and strengthening customer data protection within the automotive industry.
The increasing digitization of vehicles presents an unprecedented opportunity for cybercrime. Motorists not only risk their vehicles being hacked—resulting in potential loss of control—but also have their sensitive personal information vulnerable to unscrupulous acts. This information, when exploited, can result in severe consequences, ranging from identity theft to financial loss.
Further complicating matters, vehicle manufacturers often outsource app creation to third-party developers, who are not directly supervised by the automakers. The FTC has issued warnings about this arrangement, implicitly acknowledging some level of risk to consumer information. The NHTSA also acknowledges the issue but, so far, neither entity has taken significant action aside from offering guidelines.
It stands to reason that automakers must strike a balance between innovation and security. Ensuring customer trust will necessitate a firm commitment to data privacy, even as they race to stay at the cutting edge of technological advances. Self-regulation has, so far, been the order of the day, but with the pressing issue of data protection, external oversight may become inevitable.
This issue has been discussed in detail by Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC, who provide a comprehensive evaluation of automakers and their efforts in customer data protection, which can be found here.