A feature built to make car ownership easier is now raising a bigger safety question.
Car makers increasingly send software updates straight to vehicles, allowing them to fix bugs and add new functions without asking drivers to visit a service centre. But experts say the same connection could also give hackers or foreign actors a way into important vehicle systems.
The concern goes beyond stolen data because modern software can affect how a car or bus moves, stops and responds on the road.
Over-the-Air Car Updates Create New Cybersecurity Risks
Over-the-air updates first became common with smartphones, where companies such as Google, Apple and Samsung used them to send new features and security fixes without users visiting a repair centre.
Car makers later adopted the same idea for connected vehicles. Tesla helped bring it into wider use when it began sending updates to the Model S in 2012, and other manufacturers followed because it made fixing problems faster and reduced service-centre visits.
Siraj Ahmed Shaikh, a systems security professor at Swansea University, told CNBC that the technology offers a quicker and cheaper way to manage vehicle systems. In the past, some changes may have required a recall or happened during regular maintenance.
However, analysts warn that the convenience creates a new weak point. A poorly protected connection could expose a vehicle to cyberattacks, data theft or remote interference.
Gabriel Lim, a senior analyst at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, described the technology as a national security concern. He said Norway, Denmark and Britain have raised questions about foreign actors interfering with moving vehicles.
Norwegian Bus Test Show Risks Involved in Remote Vehicle Updates
A test by Norwegian public transport company Ruter brought the issue into focus. The company tested two buses and found that one connected its battery and power controls to a mobile network through a Romanian SIM card.
Ruter said the connection meant the manufacturer could, in theory, stop the bus or make it unusable. While the test did not show that anyone had taken control, it showed what could happen when important vehicle systems remain connected to an outside network.
The findings pushed authorities in the UK and Denmark to begin their own investigations. Car makers now face pressure to keep remote updates useful without leaving drivers and public transport systems open to new risks.
