Consumer Advocates Plan to Brief Hill on Strengthening Connected Car Rule Protections
The Consumer Federation of America and others are expected to raise concerns during a to-be-rescheduled Public Knowledge briefing for congressional staffers about the cybersecurity and privacy implications of the auto industry’s dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology in connected cars. PK, CFA and other consumer advocates said they're concerned DSRC technology may not sufficiently protect against threats to cybersecurity and privacy ahead of a final National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule on standards for the technology. PK is rescheduling the briefing, originally set for Tuesday, to better accommodate panelists and to avoid a time conflict, a spokeswoman said.
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PK and others renewed their concerns about DSRC in September, when General Motors began deploying DSRC before NHTSA’s final determination on whether the technology meets cybersecurity and privacy standards. The agency isn’t expected to issue a final rule until at least next year. A SecureSet study on DSRC to be released at the PK briefing will indicate “existing DSRC technology makes cars easily identifiable, permitting tracking by third-parties and making DSRC-enabled vehicles targets for hackers,” PK said in a notice on the briefing. “The decision to use DSRC spectrum and devices to support commercial applications dramatically increases the risk of cyber attacks and identity theft to drivers.” SecureNet declined to provide further information before the briefing. “You'll find the report to be extremely compelling and full of new information to inform the DSRC deployment and commercialization debate,” said a company spokesman.
DSRC’s privacy and cybersecurity protections are a major concern for consumer advocates, particularly after security researchers revealed in July 2015 they were able to hijack vehicle systems when they took control of a moving Jeep Cherokee on a St. Louis highway, said CFA Director-Public Affairs Jack Gillis. “We’re not necessarily cybersecurity experts, but it’s clear” based on that incident “that it’s possible to manipulate the driving patterns of these vehicles if the channels aren’t secure,” Gillis said. NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said during an April House Commerce Trade Subcommittee hearing that vehicle systems’ cybersecurity is a top issue for the agency (see 1604140032).
Consumer advocates are concerned about the privacy protections included in NHTSA’s DSRC rules because of the possibility the information collected by connected vehicle systems could become commercialized without a driver’s permission, Gillis said. “We already give up a lot of information just by using our cellphones, so we’re concerned that we might give up even more information about our personal habits via our vehicles” if that information isn’t properly protected, he said. CFA also is concerned about the larger issue of use of the DSRC spectrum on the 5.9 GHz band for commercial purposes, Gillis said. Distracted driving is a problem, “so consumers don’t need to be bombarded with additional distractions such as coupons popping up on dashboards,” he said.
The need for strong DSRC rules is especially important given the burgeoning development of autonomous vehicle technologies, Gillis said. Autonomous vehicles have “extraordinary potential” but haven’t been fully vetted at this point, he said. There’s an “important tension” between waiting to fully test the technology before it’s implemented and “not wanting to slow down” its development, Gillis said. Rosekind told the House Commerce Trade Subcommittee last month that federal policy on autonomous vehicles would evolve over time, noting the ongoing collection of public comments on potential NHTSA rules for the technology (see 1611140049).