Connected vehicles bring greater security risks.

“Fleet Management and the Connected Vehicle,” a recent webinar hosted by the not-for-profit, New Jersey-based NAFA Fleet Management Association, made at least one point abundantly clear: it’s time to make the connected vehicle a front-line issue for your fleet.

The panel, which included representatives from both public and private sectors, summarized risks and offered recommendations on several primary concerns including liability, vulnerability to hackers and other criminal elements, collection and protection of data, and the safety and privacy of operators. Bluetooth technology and the mandatory OBD-II port in particular offer both an indispensable data-collection tool and a relatively new risk to cybersecurity that needs to be addressed with manufacturers and legislators.

Today’s fleet managers are faced with a host of questions with which their predecessors never had to contend: To what security risks are we exposed? How will data be collected, stored and retrieved, and for what purpose? Who owns that data? How can the disclosure of vehicle-specific information potentially impede the ability to do business? What policies do we need in place?

The answers, while complex, will depend on careful assessment, explicit discussions with stakeholders and transparency with staff.

Look for a full report in the next issue of fleetdigest magazine.