Cyberthreats in Modern Cars : Responsibility and Readiness of Auto Workshops

• Modern cars are becoming increasingly smarter and connected. Today, cars often contain features ranging from controlling service functions through a mobile application to remote road assistance. However, as cars become smarter, they also become potential targets for cyberattacks, and a potential threat to human safety. Traditionally, handing in a car to an auto workshop for repairs and maintenance have ensured that the car is road safe. But, to what extent are auto mechanics aware of repairs and maintenance related to the car’s cybersecurity? Based on interviews with eight auto workshop specialists in Sweden, using the capability maturity model as lens to capture the readiness maturity, the following study looks at experiences with cybersecurity related to cars, what current tools are used, and procedures to deal with a cyberattack against cars in their workshop. It was found that auto workshops are potential targets, with limited solutions existing today, and that cyber security is not a part of the current culture. It was also found that there is a gap between independent workshops and branded workshops in how they function and in what manner they approach problems and issues. Specifically, for new issues (i.e., previously unencountered issues), branded workshops relied more on the manufacturer than independent workshops who were left to use whatever solution they could figure out by their own means, which sometimes may be akin to hacking the car’s systems.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Systemvetenskap, informationssystem och informatik med samhällsvetenskaplig inriktning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Information Systems, Social aspects (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Connected car

vehicle cyber security

auto workshop security

Information Systems

Informationssystem (IS)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)