Attacks on infrastructure
In fact, attacks on individual cars are rare, and usually occur in the controlled environment of demonstrations and workshops by cybersecurity experts seeking to highlight the importance of this issue. These demonstrations clearly show how important car cybersecurity is, however.
The overwhelming majority of cyber attacks involve attempts to hack into the IT infrastructure itself, which contains user data and handles the operation of various services and car systems. Having said that, the possibility of targeting individual cars does exist and we need to be prepared to defend ourselves in such an event. Like other manufacturers, Škoda has to follow the UNECE regulations, which set the basic rules for automotive cybersecurity.
If your car is behaving unusually, it’s a good idea to park it and use the SOS button to call a service.
The regulations require car manufacturers to ensure that the car’s control units are protected against unauthorised external interventions, for example, and to ensure that software updates and car repairs are still available ten years after the production of a given model ends if users face any functional risk with regard to cybersecurity. As a result, the rules entail changes in the way cars are both developed and manufactured.
