Cybersecurity regulations: Are non-compliant cars more vulnerable?

Many already are, of course, but the regulation now mandates their fitment. As with the UNECE WP.29 Cybersecurity regulation, bringing some older models into line with GSR2 has proved impossible, which is why the Renault Zoe, for example, was retired early.

The technologies demanded by GSR2 are key to the EU achieving its stated ambition of zero road deaths by 2050.

Accordingly, vehicles that are autonomous or that rely on satellite navigation are set to increase in number. Ensuring that they can’t be overridden or hacked by a third party is just one of the aims of the new UNECE WP.29 Cybersecurity regulation.

The fact is that cars are at risk of becoming as popular a target for hackers as mobile phones and desktop computers. Vehicle theft by electronic means is already a well-documented problem, but installing malware in a vehicle’s operating system and demanding payment for its removal is a growing issue.

Meanwhile, the increasing use of over-the-air updates by manufacturers presents its own problems. By strengthening a car’s cybersecurity and boosting manufacturers’ and consumers’ trust in it an array of autonomous and on-board digital services – including more advanced safety systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communication and even automatic payments – will become possible.