by WAF Think Tank
•WAF launches WAF VCSI -Vehicle Cyber Security Index
•Top Cyber Security Experts shall benchmark Connected Cars, CVs and 2W for their Cyber Security
•Names of Connected Vehicles which show Top Performance in cyber security shall be shared with 120+ Media Sites across the world!
•Last Date for enrolment for WAF VCSI is 7th July 2024
Connected vehicles are the norm of the day! The connected features are no more just a gimmick! They are not just to please the Gen Z with apps, navigation, telematics, music and messaging tools in the car.
They are also about functionality and business. Most Commercial vehicles these days are connected. in-fact all the vehicles which roll out from the factory of Volvo Eicher CV are all connected vehicles by default!
Analytics and driver behaviour related data are critical to business! Supply chains productivity, efficiency, resilience all rely on them.
But how safe our these connected vehicles? Like normal enterprise IT infrastructure, they too are prone to hacking and phishing! The problem actually gets exacerbated in the case of connected vehicles as :
1. Absence of awareness and focus on Connected Vehicle Cyber security
2. The ECU which is the vehicle onboard computer , got designed around 45 years back and was meant to be a stand alone disconnected device, which now is connected and sending data to the cloud
3. Vehicle drivers, users and even the vehicle service workshop staff aren’t trained to take proper care of open ports, bluetooth and other settings which make them even more vulnerable
Each time this issue of hacking of connected vehicles comes up, one is inevitably reminded of the 2015 Jeep Cherokee Hacking incident of the US. the hackers entered via the port in the car’s entertainment system, allegedly left open negligently by the service station. The hackers took control of the steering, brakes while it was moving on a freeway. They pumped up the volume to max level and even appeared on the video screen of the car shouting you are doomed! It was with great difficulty that the driver narrowly saved his life!
Ironically and sadly we haven’t come a long way from this incident! Just the years have passed. A simple google search would bear testimony to the sheer absence of any such index of Vehicle cyber security!
Just imagine if big trucks and buses begin to get hacked while moving. Thousands of cabs belonging to the same company get hacked and remotely controlled by hackers. The results can be disastrous!
Invitation to Participate in WAF VCSI – Vehicle Cyber Security Index
Anuj Guglani, Founder & CEO, WAF says,’ We at WAF invite all the vehicle makers to participate in this WAF VCSI to up the threshold of Cyber security of Connected vehicles. Sign up for this program and get your products tested for Cyber Security by Industry’s leading experts. Get benchmarked with the other industry players. Let’s come together for safety and security of drivers, families and all the other users of vehicles which are mostly connected now!’
