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Helping to secure privacy for data generated by connected cars

Cybersecurity is playing an increasingly prominent role in vehicle purchase decisions.

Connected cars, vehicles containing devices that connect and exchange car data with networks and services, are behemoths of data processing—up to 25 gigabytes of data per hour.

But users are increasingly concerned with the privacy of that data.

According to a recent automotive study by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), 56 percent of executives say security and privacy will indeed be key differentiators in vehicle purchasing decisions. And in another recent IBV consumer study, 62 percent of consumers said they would consider one brand over another if it had better security and privacy.

Additionally, recent global developments in privacy regulations heavily affect the personal data processing activities related to connected cars. Among these, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is perhaps the most stringent.

It’s time for a new approach that addresses these growing requirements. Stakeholders of the entire connected car ecosystem, including manufacturers and their suppliers, insurers, retailers, and application providers, need to forego a piecemeal approach and embrace privacy end to end.

We call this approach “privacy by design and default.” These principles encompass the three major phases of a vehicle’s life cycle: designing in privacy, building in privacy, and driving with privacy.⁴ This report details this comprehensive approach.

Recent global developments in the privacy regulatory landscape heavily affect the personal data processing activities related to connected cars. Among these, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is perhaps the most stringent. It’s time for stakeholders of the entire connected car ecosystem, including manufacturers and their suppliers, insurers, retailers, and application providers to forego a piecemeal approach and undertake privacy comprehensively—an approach we call the principle of “privacy by design and default.”

 


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Meet the authors

György Halmos

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, EU Privacy Consultant, IBM Security


Jayne Golding

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, Executive Consultant, European Privacy Lead, IBM Security


Ben Stanley

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, Automotive Research Leader, IBM Institute for Business Value

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    Originally published 22 April 2019