Smart Car: Privacy In Your Car

A few months ago I bought my first new car. I sprung for all the "bells and whistles". It has voice control, GPS, satellite radio, and pretty much all of the latest technological devices. Truth be told I couldn't really find any new car that didn't have most of these options - I was almost (and happily) forced into it.

All of this technology means more than just cool features in a new car, it also begs the question: "How concerned about privacy should we be?" A lot of people say very concerned - just as concerned as you are on the internet or with your credit card.

In fact, as reported by the NY Times most people may not even realize that your smart-car comes equipt with a "black box" "that records data collects information like direction, speed and seatbelt use in a continuous loop. It is in nearly every car today, and in September (2014), it is set to become mandatory."

The question of what information is being gathered, it's disclosure, and who has access to the data is becoming such an issue that "early next week (January 2014), Senator John Hoeven, Republican of North Dakota, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, will introduce a bill stipulating that car owners control the data collected on the device called the event data recorder."

To take it a step further, there was also a video circling the internet where a few technology consultants proved it was possible to take over a car completely from a remote device.



As an IT Risk and Security Consultant I am always thinking of how new technology could be inadvertently or perhaps maliciously used against people or corporations. So with all of this new technology what safeguards are in place to prevent malicious access of personal data - or maybe even the car itself? Who is monitoring it? And even more troubling: Why aren't manufacturers disclosing these risks and data gathering techniques to their customers?

As it stands manufactures and car dealerships say almost nothing about the privacy implications of buying a new car. And with tech giants, whom have privacy controversies of their own, like Google and Apple teaming up with car manufacturers privacy concerns are only expected to become more potent. Just something to think about going forward.