Connect
Autonomous vehicles security
As we begin to see connected vehicles and their associated technologies moving into the mainstream, there are important privacy and data protection issues for stakeholders to consider particularly around cyber threats.
The automotive industry will need to continue to remain vigilant and ahead of the next generation of threats, including systemic supply chain attacks like SolarWinds and data manipulation attacks. It is particularly important to stay on top of geopolitical developments.
As international relations fracture and re-align, the likelihood arises for more system-wide, destabilizing attacks from state-sponsored cyber actors.
Identifying data protection risks (by carrying out data protection impact assessments), ensuring robust security is applied to protect data (by adopting a “data protection by design and by default” approach from the design phase onwards) and managing cybersecurity risks will be prevalent for years to come.
Successful vehicle models and launch of new vehicles will be reliant on steady production and access to partners, and the contractual relationship between an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and suppliers will invariably need to be longer with no easy exit. Long-term relationships call for long-term management and financial oversight.
Case study
We advised an automotive company in relation to the supply of a telematics system for its cars (which captures car’s health, driver’s journey’s etc.), including working on the technology (hardware and software) supply agreements, support arrangements and the privacy and consumer aspects and documentation. The advice covers a roll-out in more than 10 countries.
