I recently read an article in The Intercept about how the government is able to extract information stored in the computers onboard modern cars- without a warrant.
Recent automobile models rely heavily on computers for everything from navigation to engine diagnostics to entertainment, and entice drivers to connect their smartphones for added features and convenience.
This leads to the onboard computer downloading troves of information about us. According to the article, they can pull the following data “[r]ecent destinations, favorite locations, call logs, contact lists, SMS messages, emails, pictures, videos, social media feeds, and the navigation history of everywhere the vehicle has been,” as well as data that can be used to determine a target’s “future plan,” and “[i]dentify known associates and establish communication patterns between them.”
Definitely eye-opening.
There is a company in the metropolitan area of New York, New York, that claims the ability to clear ALL such data from a car’s infotainment system:
Here’s a video about how to do SOME of this oneself:
I feel like there are literally no modern cars that aren’t simultaneously a computer with multiple cameras and microphones connected to the internet. If I wanted to get an electric car for example, I would be left with no options (correct me if I’m wrong). I also wouldn’t feel safe in a vehicle that is capable of going over 100km/h, while someone has the ability to control it from the outside.
@kirkmahoneyphd Thanks for this. It’s pretty scary that we need a service like this. Now it makes me wonder about all the rental cars I’ve connected my phone to over the years. YIKES!
I love the idea of the electric card just prefer once that isn’t linked up to the internet of things!