Wednesday 06 February 2019 3:23 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:42 am

In a spin: Cars likely to be hit by cyber attacks in next year, say experts

Malicious cyber attacks against cars’ IT systems are “very likely” to start taking place in the next year, according to IT gurus.

A survey has found 62 per cent of security professionals in the car industry anticipate such an attack in the next 12 months, as cyber security in the car industry lags behind technology available to hackers.

The research, on behalf of US-based Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE), found 84 per cent of respondents have concerns cybersecurity practices are not keeping pace with evolving technology.

According to statistics portal Statista, the number of cars with in-built internet access will more than double in the UK over the next four years from 8.94m to 19.42m. Yet a "typical automotive company" has only nine full time employees devoted to working on cyber security, the survey found.

Chris Clark, principal security engineer at security firm Synopsys, which compiled the report, told City PM IT systems in cars had reached a point where in the future there “will be attacks that the industry just can’t account for”.

Making cyber security changes can have “a serious impact on the entire supply chain, meaning there is a lot of planning that needs to be done to implement them,” he said.

Even though security experts see “a clear danger”, 31 per cent of respondents added they did not feel they could raise their concerns to upper management.

Malicious cyber attacks against cars’ IT systems are “very likely” to start taking place in the next year, according to research.

According to statistics portal Statista, the number of cars with in-built internet access will more than double in the UK over the next four years from 8.94m to 19.42m. Yet a “typical automotive company” has only nine full time employees devoted to working on cyber security, the survey said.

Chris Clark, principal security engineer at security firm Synopsys, which compiled the report, told City PM IT systems in cars had reached a point where in future there “will be attacks that the industry just can’t account for”.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said: “Cyber security is a priority for the automotive industry and vehicle manufacturers are investing significantly in new features to help keep cars safe. These include sophisticated technologies that protect critical safety systems, and regular software updates.

“Industry is working closely with government and security agencies and is developing new guidance to help vehicle engineers design safeguards to make current and future generations of connected cars resilient to cyber attack.”