Cybersecurity: Yes, They Will Hack Your Car

09 March 2017 Dashboard Insights Blog
Author(s): Christopher H. Grigorian R. Nicholas Englund

Auto manufacturers are increasingly equipping vehicles with rapidly advancing technologies, raising concerns regarding how the public will be affected by these changes. Manufacturers are beginning to implement automated driving and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities into their cars, extending potential cybersecurity threats and associated safety issues to road users.

As consumers, we already see cybersecurity threats and breaches in many areas of our day-to-day lives. With the spike of auto-driven and connected cars across the auto industry, these same threats and breaches have a strong potential to sprout in our lives on the road as well.

NHTSA has outlined the factors it will consider in evaluating cybersecurity threats as potential safety-related defects. They are as follows:

  • The amount of time elapsed since the vulnerability was discovered (e.g., less than one day, three months, or more than six months)
  • The level of expertise needed to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., whether a layman can exploit the vulnerability or whether it takes an expert to do so)
  • The accessibility of knowledge of the underlying system (e.g., whether how the system works is public knowledge or whether it is sensitive and restricted)
  • The necessary window of opportunity to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., an unlimited window or a very narrow window)
  • The level of equipment needed to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., standard or highly specialized)

Additionally, NHTSA’s guidance suggests policies that manufacturers :

  • Participating in the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC), which became fully operational in January 2016
  • Developing policies around reporting and disclosure of vulnerabilities to external cybersecurity researchers
  • Instituting a documented process for responding to incidents, vulnerabilities, and exploits and running exercises to test the effectiveness of these processes
  • Developing a documentation process that will allow self-auditing, which may include risk assessments, penetration test results, and organizational decisions
  • For original equipment, developing processes to ensure vulnerabilities and incidents are shared with appropriate entities throughout the supply chain
  • As vehicle technologies continue to progress, we expect that NHTSA’s guidance will evolve to address future concerns

To continue reading through NHTSA’s enforcement plans on motor vehicle safety as it pertains to recent technological advances, be sure to check out Thursday’s post on automated vehicle regulations.

Want to Dive Even Deeper Into This and Other Issues?

Foley’s Automotive Industry Team has prepared a full report, entitled Top Legal Issues Facing the Automotive Industry in 2017, that examines the road ahead regarding antitrust, security, labor and employment, M&A, and more. Download it today.

This blog is made available by Foley & Lardner LLP (“Foley” or “the Firm”) for informational purposes only. It is not meant to convey the Firm’s legal position on behalf of any client, nor is it intended to convey specific legal advice. Any opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Foley & Lardner LLP, its partners, or its clients. Accordingly, do not act upon this information without seeking counsel from a licensed attorney. This blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Communicating with Foley through this website by email, blog post, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship for any legal matter. Therefore, any communication or material you transmit to Foley through this blog, whether by email, blog post or any other manner, will not be treated as confidential or proprietary. The information on this blog is published “AS IS” and is not guaranteed to be complete, accurate, and or up-to-date. Foley makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation or content of the site. Foley expressly disclaims all other guarantees, warranties, conditions and representations of any kind, either express or implied, whether arising under any statute, law, commercial use or otherwise, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Foley or any of its partners, officers, employees, agents or affiliates be liable, directly or indirectly, under any theory of law (contract, tort, negligence or otherwise), to you or anyone else, for any claims, losses or damages, direct, indirect special, incidental, punitive or consequential, resulting from or occasioned by the creation, use of or reliance on this site (including information and other content) or any third party websites or the information, resources or material accessed through any such websites. In some jurisdictions, the contents of this blog may be considered Attorney Advertising. If applicable, please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Photographs are for dramatization purposes only and may include models. Likenesses do not necessarily imply current client, partnership or employee status.

Related Services