Venable partner David Strickland was quoted in an October 22, 2014 article in The Detroit News on efforts by the auto industry to prevent cyberattacks. Strickland was participating in the 2014 SAE Convergence conference in Detroit. To help prevent possible attacks, automakers and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) agreed to form the Sharing Advisory Center to collect and share information on cyberthreats.
Strickland said now is the time for automakers and regulators to address this issue to prevent “acts of terrorism.” He encouraged the auto industry to be proactive and not reactive in addressing cybersecurity issues. “It is, right now, the industry’s time to get together and figure out countermeasures, before you do have a much more mature threat,” said Strickland.
According to Strickland, the reason there have not been any reports of vehicle hacking yet is because there is no financial incentive for criminals to attempt it. But he warned that the industry needs to be ready when someone figures out how to make it profitable. “As we have larger and more connectivity across the fleet, there’s going to be more incentives (for hackers) to create more problems,” Strickland added. “Or the even scarier aspect, which you’re dealing with right now, are acts of terrorism.”
Strickland said now is the time for automakers and regulators to address this issue to prevent “acts of terrorism.” He encouraged the auto industry to be proactive and not reactive in addressing cybersecurity issues. “It is, right now, the industry’s time to get together and figure out countermeasures, before you do have a much more mature threat,” said Strickland.
According to Strickland, the reason there have not been any reports of vehicle hacking yet is because there is no financial incentive for criminals to attempt it. But he warned that the industry needs to be ready when someone figures out how to make it profitable. “As we have larger and more connectivity across the fleet, there’s going to be more incentives (for hackers) to create more problems,” Strickland added. “Or the even scarier aspect, which you’re dealing with right now, are acts of terrorism.”