With every passing year, the automobile industry is embracing advanced and emerging technologies. Technology has widely affected the way automobile industries operate today. Each year a new car model is launched in the market with better features and values. Impressed by the customization, rich, sound, and stable people buy them too.
Not only the automotive are dependent on software for various functions and control, the entire industry is reliant on computer-based systems for optimal occupations. One usage of technology is to store customer data and its retrieval at different times.
Every industry needs complete details of the consumers during a purchase. Every single piece of information such as user name, card details, payment methods, and more are stored on the computer database or documented in files. The collection of such information is critical to the automobile firms. The firms are fully responsible to protect the privacy of the consumers since the number of data theft and loss have increased significantly.
Data loss or theft is big trouble in any industry. It can cost heavy penalties on the firms and compensation to the consumers who lose their data. The loss of customers, reputation, and market value are additional items of burden baggage during a data breach.
Automobile industries need to be extra careful while handling sensitive consumer data. Many unidentified vulnerabilities affect the protection of valuable information. Compliance with the privacy laws and devising effective regulation policies can save you from heavy financial and social losses.

Table of Contents

General Overview of Information Security

Information security is an integral part of any business or industry. It is the basic requirement for running a smooth business and successful too. Every business should ensure that data security is their topmost preference.
In simple words, information security means to safeguard and provide the best protection to critical and confidential information. It's the prevention of any misuse or leakage.
Industries possess the confidential information of their consumers. On a data breach or theft, this personal information may get stolen. Consumers become victims of identity theft and other serious crimes. It is a matter of concern for the businesses working solely on personal data. Along with the loss of consumer rights, the organizations can suffer an enormous amount of money lost as a penalty, damage to reputation, loss of consumers, and more similar disruptions.
With the grasp of technology over every Major industry, it is difficult to escape the information security breaches. With time, the attackers have become more sophisticated in their attacking approach. The average cost of a data breach in 2017 was estimated to be $7.35 million. The cost estimated by 2021 is $3 trillion.
By increasing technological security, one cannot save themselves from cyber theft. Significant and weighty policies should be legislated to prevent any smaller or larger data security breaches. Above all, the employees in every business should be consciously aware of their privacy laws and compliance. All the workplaces must have a specific set of rules and procedures to ensure the protection of information. They should also consider implementing a destruction policy for physical and digital data storage systems.

Information Security in Auto Industry

The automobile industry is increasingly being victimized by information theft by hackers and attackers. The range of data available in the auto dealership industry is massive and contains lavish personal information. The consumer data about their details, payment methods, preferences, driving licenses, and other financial aspects are stored in a database owned by motor corporations. Due to such a variety of information, the automobile industry is more prone to data theft. Due to the increase in the usage of the internet of things (IoT) and connecting devices, there is a requirement for more data protection.
One out of four organizations suffers a data breach every day. And still, very little is done to prevent the mishaps.
The awareness among the security officials in the industry is lacking. Many small dealerships and minor companies assume that they are safe from being targeted. However, it is the reverse of that. Due to the ignorance and negligence of the owners, the chances of getting robbed are higher. Malicious insiders and hackers can easily steal now and then.
Automobile dealers are suggested to take full precautions to safeguard critical information about the consumers. This way, the industry can reduce the potential risks and heavy damages to their name.

Facts and Stats

The stats from around the world on data breaches in huge industries are very serious.
More than 3000 records are lost or stolen every minute of every day in the world. At this rate, one can assume how bad the situation is. Around 5 million data records are stolen every day if we take the above stats into account. This is not a small number. These are alarming digits for every industry, specifically the automobile industry that cares very less about information protection.
Around 52% of the automotive executes believed that data privacy and security are extremely important phenomena while purchasing from their organization. Whereas, 48% of the consumers believe that it was an extremely important criterion for them as well. Around 68% of the small and middle-size businesses have reported one or more than one security breach incident in the year 2017. Another study reveals that 63% of the cyberattack targets were small and mid-size businesses. So if you own a small to mid-size business of automobiles, then probably it’s time to take some serious action on privacy and protection.
Only 39% of small and medium-sized businesses believed that they had technologies to detect and block any cyberattacks on their network. During a purchase, 33% of consumers are not sure about the security of their personal and financial data. Another interesting study revealed that 84% of customers did not report to the dealership after they had been robbed or had been the victim of a data breach.
By the end of 2020, 250 million vehicles on the road globally were estimated to collect data about road conditions, driver preferences, and cars.

Previous Breaches in Auto Industry

The automotive industry has suffered from cybersecurity incidents enormously. The rate of attacks has almost doubled in 2019 since 2016. The annual incidents have increased by 605%. Almost 82% of the incidents reported in 2019 were remote attacks without involving physical access to the vehicle. Around 57% of the incidents in 2019 were caused by cybercriminals who disrupted the businesses, stole property, and demanded money. Only 38% of cyber experts warned the companies about the vulnerabilities.
The top three loopholes discovered in auto industry were- keyless entry systems at 30%, followed by back-end servers at 27%, and mobile applications at 13%.
The top three incidents reported in automobile industries were car thefts and break-ins at 31% followed by control over car systems at 27% and data breaches at 23%. These are not insignificant stats.
Canada, which hosts one of the largest auto manufacturers companies in Japan, fell victim to a major data breach in 2017. The personal financial information of 1.13 million customers was exposed in the public domain. The illegal access was obtained by unauthorized people who got the financial information of the customers.
A US automobile firm reported an online data breach in the year 2016. The personal critical details of up to 5 million people who bought cars were exposed. The names, residential addresses, Social Security numbers (SSNs), and phone numbers were released in public. According to the security researchers, 128 dealerships backed up their customer data on a centralized record system without any encryption or security system protocols.
Some US-based cybersecurity expert from Seattle informed that a local dealership fell victim to a ransomware incident after an email attachment was opened on the computer systems. Due to that ransomware folder, the network-attached folders became and kept it. The dealership had to pay $1000 to the attacker for unlocking the service files.
By adopting standard regulations and privacy laws, security in the automobile industry can be boosted. The cloud-based security solutions and in-vehicle technicalities can resolve breach issues.

Vulnerabilities in Auto Industry

The automotive industry is vulnerable to data breaches due to several unavoidable circumstances. The following are the most common risk for a data breach.

1. Poor policy

The automobile industry has been slow in keeping up with the regulations of the state for information protection. The organization lacks proper and formal policies on Data breaches. No regulation on incident responses, backups, and restoration processes are written down. The failed privacy protection system at the organization is the chief reason for easy data breaches by infiltrators.

2. Online sophistication in breaches

The malicious activities of the cyber attackers on the network system of the organization are the major cause of online breaches. When the unaware employee downloads malicious malware into the system, the attackers trick the end-user easily. Hackers have innovated a new system for attacking. Implanting malware through social media platforms and convincing employers to click on the post is the most feasible method. Another mistake by the employees is choosing a weak password for their network management systems. Hackers login into the main system by fraudulent methods.

3. High connectivity

The automobile industry is connected to various small industries. The carmakers, suppliers, advertisers, vendors, and more similar people are in regular touch through electronic devices. Many pieces of research have proved that breaches are mostly linked due to third-party intervention. This could be intentional or unintentional. To ensure complete protection, industries should adopt proper regulatory measures.

4. Untrained and unaware employees

The people working in an automobile firm are mostly aware of the technological features of vehicles and their descriptions. They are very less informed about the risks associated with the mishandling of private information. Most of the attacks are through a malicious virus in an email. Unaware workers download attachments and allow fraudulent systems to take over their network. According to a recent study, more than half of the small and medium-size businesses confirmed that ignorant employees were the main cause of data breach incidents.

5. Outdated equipment

The industries that lose pace with technological updates are more vulnerable to any cyberattack. Poor and old technological devices with average security systems are easy to infiltrate.

6. Personal devices

The personal devices of workers such as mobile phones and laptops contain personally identifiable information of the customers. Such devices are more prone to theft and attack. The industry should provide work laptops at the office premises itself. The personal and professional devices should be separate to avoid any malignant activities.

7. The unfortunate budget for IT security

According to a recent survey, small and medium-sized businesses spend an amount of their annual budget on boosting security systems. The lack of IT security staff members is one of the major causes of most number of attacks on small businesses. Around 80% of the companies with 100 to 500 employees have very few security staff members and investigation officers.
75% of the consumers ensured cybersecurity before purchasing any vehicle. Hence, the automobile industry should strictly abide by the privacy laws of the state and develop its own set of data regulation policies.

Is Auto Industry Information Secured?

Information Security Laws

There are several federal information security laws that the dealers of UAE should be aware of. The dealers must be conscious to inform the agencies and the consumers when a data breach occurs. It is a very positive and good practice to inform the people affected by a data breach.
Here are some of the laws that apply to the automobile industry.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

This law is enacted by the European Union for the privacy and personal data protection of European citizens. This law applies to all the companies anywhere in the world that process European citizens' information for their business. Failing to comply with the GDPR can affect your company. A penalty costing 2% to 4% of the annual global turnover can be charged. Separate compensation payments to the consumers whose information has been compromised.

Safeguard rules

The dealerships should have the rules and security plan written down in brief. A proper system for maintaining the customer confidential information and data of the employees must be made.

Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLB Act)

This act prevents personal financial information loss. It protects consumer rights held in financial institutions. Dealerships are the financial institutions since they collect, store, and retrieve the financial information of customers from the databases for any usage.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)

It is a modification to the FCRA. This modification ensures the protection of consumers from identity theft. The disposal rule is a part of the FAC ETA that guarantees the destruction of confidential data files.

The disposal rule

This rule comes under the FACTA. According to this disposal rule, unwanted information about consumers should be immediately and securely shredded. The digital files and documents must be destroyed when no more required by the institutions.

The Payment Card Industry is a Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

This law maintains the standard of withholding the cardholder data from any misuses. It safely keeps the financial information limited to certain specific users only.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

This law strongly protects the privacy of credit report information. It guarantees the accuracy of information provided by the consumer reporting agencies' CRAs.

Can-Spam Act

It is the set of rules for Commercial emails that distinguishes the emails from the dealership and fraudulent agencies. This act says people from falling prey to malware and phishing scams.

The Red Flags rule

This law requires the dealership to create a program that prevents identity theft of the consumers. It detects the identity theft threats and hence labeled as red flags.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

This legislation deals with obtaining the consent of the consumers about the use of personal information and its disclosure. It comes along with appropriate safeguard methods to protect consumer rights.
The Dubai market that deals with the automobile industry are also compliant with these regulatory laws. Failing to comply with them can bring reputational loss, loss of customers, and financial losses.

Best Tips for Breach Prevention

Some of the best practices can save you from information security breaches. The tips are described briefly below.

Well defined leadership

Assigning a chief information security officer to oversee all the dealings is essential. Every industry specifically, the automobile industry should have a comprehensive data privacy protection program that covers the consumers, employees, and related people. Conducting regular assessments of every department in the firm can help in diagnosing the loopholes.

Information technology security

It is very important to detect threats through spam filters and technological advances. Ensuring the installation of the latest software and firewalls to protect the critical data. Use the legitimate software updates, and back up all the essential and private data into hard drives regularly. Get rid of the old and legacy equipment.

Secure work environment

All the employees working in the dealership should be fully aware of the security practices. The people dealing directly with the consumers to the managers should fulfill the commitment of information security in every aspect. An environment that promotes information security reduces the risk by half.

Data retention policy

An effective policy is necessary that keeps personal information only up to the time required. Proper guidelines and security systems for safely destroying personal information should be introduced on the office premises. This policy can help in introducing the clean desk policy as well. Get rid of the old unwanted files of huge files lying unattended on the table regularly.

Secure work environment

All the employees working in the dealership should be fully aware of the security practices. The people dealing directly with the consumers to the managers should fulfill the commitment of information security in every aspect. An environment that promotes information security reduces the risk by half.

Compliance to governance

Establishing secure processes to ensure guaranteed compliance with regulatory laws, policies, and commitments are extensively beneficial. This develops a positive reputation in front of information security agencies. Consumers can trust the firm more due to compliance.

Awareness

Regular training of the workers in the dealership can reduce the threat of a data breach. By implementing the best security practices, employees learn to identify dangerous threats and deal with them wisely. Teaching them to play their roles during a breach situation and responsiveness can save your day. Conducting the end-of-the-day inspections of both physical and digital data would doubtlessly impact business growth.

Sharing of information

Dealership share information with suppliers, cybersecurity experts, and industry associations for the exchange of information. Engage with third parties to raise cyber threats awareness. The connected cars through the internet of things (IoT) have increased the issues of data security.

Physical security

Installing well-equipped security guards that inspect the corridors, offices, and storage chambers thoroughly. Keeping the doors and office is locked when not in use is a great practice. Guarding devices such as computers, mobile phones, and other electronic media with password protection.

Responsiveness to breach

Having a plan in place to immediately address any incident of a data breach and its compliance is the best thing to do. Everyone aware of their roles in every situation can reduce panic and losses.
These are the most visible and striking strategies to be adopted by the automobile industry. The foremost requirement is to keep oneself aware of the laws and the security loopholes within their offices. Regular assessments are the only way to update security systems technologically and physically.

Which Documents should be Taken Care of?

There are many documents in the dealership that should be taken care of by the employees. The customer information constituted in files should be destroyed when not needed any longer. The personally identifiable information PII, financial details and professional background, social security numbers, driving license details, financial statements, and more are confidential data. The firm should get rid of them as soon as the requirement is over.

The accounting department

This department deals with the financial reports, balance sheets, and bank statements from the customers, internal audits, and more similar critical information. A data breach in the accounting department can be very severely damaging.

The Information Technology (IT) department

This department consists of the security and safety methods details. The information from this department into the wrong hands cause data breaches to occur more frequently. Safeguarding the security systems and responsiveness measures is essential. Destroy the files that contain all these details in writing and the electronic devices too.

The purchase information

The details about the vehicle purchase, the financial statements, credit reports, loan applications, list of customers, and credit reports are the targets of attackers. The leakage of such information in the public domain can be dangerous for the reputation of customers and the dealership. Get rid of this data soon after the use.

Procurement

The details on the development plan, marketing strategies, brochures, press releases, budget reports, and more similar detailed files about the firm should be kept secret. These documents should be shredded as soon as they are utilized by the employees for work.

How EndoShred secures Information in Auto Industry?

We are one of the most reliable privacy organization for the auto industry in UAE. We provide information security and the destruction of confidential data of your firm. We protect your dealership against attacks and physical thefts by securely destroying the documents on-site in our efficient shredding trucks.
We are available for shredding at any auto organisation in the UAE. Our convenient services of destruction are favoured by hundreds of auto organizations in Dubai. We are well-informed about the UAE privacy policies and penalties applicable in auto industry. Our aware and skilled employees know their jobs very well. We work in accordance with the regulatory norms ensuring privacy protection of the customers and employees data. We are here to assist you through the entire process of document disposal in a secure way.

What do we provide?

  • Destruction of electronic devices like hard drives, compact discs, memory sticks, and other material having confidential data
  • Shredding of private information containing documents into tiny bits in a secure environment

Why choose us?

  • We provide a secure end to end process of document disposal.
  • Low-cost process and affordable.
  • Environmental friendly process since recycled products made from shredded paper.
  • High-speed shredding saves time and human resource.
  • Schedule shredding according to your convenience.
  • Choose from different shredding plans as per your needs.

How we assist in compliance with privacy laws?

When you decide to partner with us, you take the best decision of your life. The methodology adopted by us is completely regulated according to privacy laws.

  • We provide highly secured locker consoles for depositing documents.
  • The trained professionals shred the confidential files in your office in the securest way.
  • A certificate that guarantees 100% safe destruction is provided at the end of the process.
  • Anyone from the office who is reliable is welcome to watch the process happening on-site.

The substantial benefits of partnering with us

  • Get rid of unwanted confidential files in the most secure manner.
  • Get awarded annually for following environment-friendly guidelines.
  • Save yourself from the mess of legal proceedings.