With car connectivity accelerating and the federal government looking to mandate wireless networks of roads and vehicles, the nation’s top auto safety regulator said “the time is now” to “move forward aggressively on cybersecurity.” Specifically, David Friedman, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, called on automakers to become more collaborative in fighting car hacking.
“Certain things about safety should not be at all about competitive advantage,” Friedman said at the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress last week, according to the Detroit Free Press. “I think cybersecurity is one of those perfect examples where sharing information will ensure that everyone is better off.”
Last year after sensational headlines on car hacking caught the public’s attention, various branches of the federal government called attention to the threat. Former NHTSA director David Strickland said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May 2013 that the agency didn’t “want to be behind the eight ball” on car security.
Committee Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va) added at the time that while he was excited about the safety benefits of the connected car technology such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, he’s also concerned about hacking. “As our cars become more connected — to the Internet, to wireless networks, with each other, and with our infrastructure — are they at risk of catastrophic cyberattacks?” he asked.
Two trade group that represent most major car companies, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers, informed NHTSA this summer that they are ready to share intelligence to advance cybersecurity. The two groups began the process this July in Detroit along with automotive supplier Delphi by joining the nonprofit group Battelle in its third-annual CyberAuto Challenge and by forming a coalition to study car cybersecurity issues.
“It is very important that we have an industry-wide approach to addressing cybersecurity issues,” Andrew Brown, vice president and chief technologist for Delphi, told the Detroit Free Press after the group’s first meeting. “It needs to be consistent across the industry as opposed to having separate sets of protocols.”
The group sent a letter to Friedman that read, in part, “Despite the absence of reported cybersecurity incidents affecting vehicles on the road to date, we are taking action to prepare for possible future threats. Consequently, we are jointly working towards establishing a mechanism for sharing vehicle cybersecurity information, threats, warnings and incidents among industry stakeholders.”
Friedman noted that he responded to the two groups and also sent letters to car company CEOs urging them to create a cybersecurity system by the end of 2015. “The important point is that [automakers] develop something where they can share information,” Friedman said.
Originally published by MSN Autos
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