Google’s latest Pixel Feature Drop on March 4, introduced the gaming in car feature for parked passengers via Android Auto, but cybersecurity experts warn it could birth new security vulnerabilities into vehicle systems.
While the update of in-car gaming highlights the trend of integrating digital entertainment with the automotive industry, as well as electric vehicles, which on its own will reflect a much greater need for cybersecurity measures.
As these two industries intertwine even more, automakers and technology companies – especially an influential one as Google – need to guarantee protection for in-car gaming features, preventing them from being weaponized as entry points for cyberattacks.
Cyber Risks Connected to In-Car Gaming
Although cars become more networked with features like in-car gaming systems, they also become more susceptible to cyberattacks.
Liudas Kanapienis, CEO and Co-founder of Ondato, emphasizes that while such entertainment options enhance user experience, they should not do so at the expense of cybersecurity. The CEO highlighted that “entertainment features cannot come at the expense of cybersecurity, which will require cooperation from both the automakers and tech companies.”
The worry is that gaming in a car would be brand new target for hackers, allowing unauthorized access to critical vehicle controls like braking, acceleration, or steering, and these gaming setup in car concerns are not new.
In 2015, security researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek remotely hacked a Jeep Cherokee, controlling its steering and brakes through a flaw in its infotainment system.
In parallel, during the Pwn2Own hacking competition, hackers took remote control of a Tesla Model 3, unlocking doors and the trunk while the car was moving, highlighting dangers of integrating sophisticated software in cars without stringent security controls.
Cybersecurity Need for In-Car Gaming
To subdue the risks, automakers and technology companies must adopt a security-oriented approach when creating in-car entertainment options, starting with the tech leaders spearheading this new gaming in car phenomenon.
Companies like Google need to establish fierce cybersecurity mechanisms, such as intrusion detection, end-to-end encryption, and regular security audits, to prevent such features from becoming weaknesses that hackers can exploit.
Truth of the matter is that vehicles are systematically becoming more advanced, software-driven, as the collaboration between automotive and tech companies stretches, demanding a new form of cyber-securing the features embedded into them, including gaming in car.
The collaboration among automakers and tech companies in putting security ahead of things but is it enough to protect both drivers’ safety and personal information, while securing their fulfilling their own business goals?
Is it real about delivering a new gaming experience to the consumer or is it just about further enrichment on the expense of the consumer from two of the US’ most valued industries.
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