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One of the things that is seemingly at the bottom of the list of concerns for EV owners is data privacy. This isn’t so much of a surprise: EV technology remains relatively new, and it can be difficult to associate a car with cybersecurity.
But actually, EV vehicles can be surprisingly vulnerable to unauthorised access, especially for owners who leave privacy at the bottom of that list and never take the time to understand how their vehicle connects to external networks.
The modern EV is no longer just a car with a battery and four wheels. This is essentially a connected computer on wheels, communicating with apps, charging networks, manufacturers, navigation services and, in a lot of cases, other connected devices.
Every one of these connections creates another route through which information can move in and out of the vehicle, and they’re often happening automatically, without the driver actually thinking about them.
That doesn’t mean someone can simply sit at home, find your car’s IP address and start driving it, but it does mean there are more digital components to think about, and every component needs to be secured properly.
Speaking of IP addresses, this is one of the first things to think about. You don’t need to constantly be asking, ‘what is my IP?’, just because you’re in a car – a car doesn’t necessarily get a new public IP address every time it changes physical location.
But the fact that it is constantly moving between different cellular and network environments means the way it connects to the internet is considerably more dynamic than a device sitting on your home network, and that can introduce problems when it comes to maintaining a consistent security setup.
You also need to think about what happens when all those different sources of data start sharing information. For instance, your manufacturer’s app might know where the car is, your charging provider will know when and where you charged, and your navigation system will have a record of where you’ve been.
Individually, those pieces of information might seem fairly harmless. Put them together, however, and they can create a worryingly detailed picture of someone’s routine.
Lastly, there’s the disjointed nature of the tech itself. A connected EV can rely on accounts, APIs, mobile apps, and cloud services to provide everything from remote locking to charging controls. If one of those accounts is poorly protected, an attacker doesn’t necessarily need to compromise the vehicle itself; they can simply look for the weakest point in the wider ecosystem that surrounds it and go from there.
The result is a wide range of ways for someone to interfere with your digital life, from accessing your personal data to misusing connected vehicle features.
Just as you would lock your car when you leave it parked, then, it’s important to make sure its digital doors are locked too. That means making sure your vehicle account has a strong, unique password and multi-factor authentication if the manufacturer offers it.
It’s also important to check which phones, apps, and other devices are authorised to connect with the car, particularly if the car itself has been bought second-hand. Thirdly, you should consider using a VPN if you’re using your phone to access your EV’s app while connected to public Wi-Fi, since an attacker can easily intercept unprotected traffic if the connection is weak.
Lastly, you should ensure that you’re keeping the EV’s software up to date, which will help protect against known vulnerabilities and patch weaknesses that might have been discovered since the previous version was released.
The reason software updates are so regular is because there are always bugs and vulnerabilities that can be exploited, so don’t look at them as a nuisance – they could quite literally be the thing that prevents a security weakness from becoming an open door.
If you do all of the above, as well as adopting a few sensible habits like reviewing your connected accounts and being careful about which apps you give access to your vehicle, there’s no reason why you can’t keep your car as safe as your other devices, ensuring each drive remains as smooth as possible.
