Connected Vehicles – Protect Your Data and Stay Secure

Many modern vehicles can connect to mobile phones, smart devices, and online services to provide features such as hands-free calling, satellite navigation, remote locking, vehicle tracking, and app-based controls. While these technologies offer convenience, they can also create security and privacy risks if not managed properly.

What are the risks?

When your phone is connected to a vehicle, personal information may be stored within the vehicle's system, including:

If a vehicle is sold, hired, returned at the end of a lease, or accessed by criminals, this data could potentially be recovered and misused.

Connected vehicles can also be vulnerable to:

How can you protect yourself?

✅ Use strong, unique passwords for vehicle-related accounts and apps.

✅ Enable two-factor authentication where available.

✅ Keep your vehicle's software and connected apps up to date.

✅ Lock your mobile phone with a PIN, fingerprint, or facial recognition.

✅ Review app permissions and only grant access where necessary.

✅ Remove paired devices and perform a factory reset before selling, returning, or disposing of a vehicle.

✅ Be cautious of emails, texts, or phone calls claiming to be from vehicle manufacturers asking for account details.

✅ Avoid storing sensitive work information on connected devices where possible.

Work Vehicle Users

Employees using fleet or work vehicles should ensure that:

Remember

A connected vehicle is effectively another internet-connected device. Taking simple security steps can help protect your personal information, prevent fraud, and reduce the risk of your vehicle or connected accounts being compromised.

Stay safe, stay connected, and stay secure.