How to Improve Cybersecurity to Protect Fleet Vehicle Data

Vehicles are increasing in complexity as technology rapidly advances. Connected vehicles store and send out information, but the security for high-tech commercial trucks isn’t nearly as robust as the protections for the office. Companies know they need cybersecurity for things like company laptops or computers, but most people outside of maintenance engineers don’t understand how these sophisticated vehicles work or their vulnerabilities.

For example, USBs are notorious for granting hackers access to private networks. However, people use them all the time when charging their phones in their vehicles. Pairing the phone to the vehicle for Bluetooth audio is another significant cybersecurity risk. The car often has unfettered access to private data, including passwords, text messages, navigation history, personal addresses, and biometric IDs. Cybercriminals can steal this data to sell it or ransom it.

Strategies to Reduce Cyber Risks

Trucking companies can take several steps to reduce the risk of fleet vehicle data breaches. These include:

• Read all privacy and terms of service policies for connected devices to understand what data the software collects.
• Perform an assessment to determine what data is necessary to collect and eliminate the rest.
• Require telematics to stop tracking between shifts or when off the clock. *
• Clear all stored data and unpair connected devices before starting new shifts on shared vehicles or before trading or selling company vehicles.
• Cancel wi-fi hotspots, satellite radio, and other subscription services before starting new shifts on shared vehicles or before trading or selling company vehicles.

* Vehicle privacy concerns can bleed into drivers’ personal lives if they use their vehicles for personal use. For example, successful cyberattacks could compromise the drivers’ families if they ever connected their devices to the vehicles.

Protecting private or sensitive employee and company information is essential to prevent costly data breaches. Contact Interstate Motor Carriers to learn more about protecting your fleet against cyber threats.