NAFA releases white paper on cybersecurity for semiautonomous and fully-autonomous vehicles

The National Association of Fleet Administrator’s (NAFA) Fleet Management Association recently released a cybersecurity-related white paper regarding internet-connected vehicles and the ways a possible cyber hacker could exploit those systems.

The white paper, titled “Fleet Management and the Connected Vehicle,” was released with a corresponding webinar that addressed the concerns posed by the increasing use of semiautonomous vehicles and the impending use of full autonomous vehicles.

”Cars and trucks today are more like ’computers on wheels,’ as they rely more and more on technology for performance and convenience than ever before,” NAFA CEO Phillip E. Russo said. “For fleet professionals, the rapid growth of vehicle connectivity presents challenges, as well as opportunities. For all drivers, the way North American roadways, and indeed global roadways, function will be drastically different sooner than anyone imagines. This is a conversation that NAFA has a duty to be part of.”

The white paper discusses how and where vehicles could be compromised by a computer hack to the communication systems, telematics and on-board diagnostic ports. The paper includes a series of recommendations for fleet administrators such as establishing communication protocols for the exchange of information related to cyber incidents, educating lawmakers on the distinction between privacy expectations for a driver of a fleet asset and privacy expectations for the consumer, and ensuring that a vehicle’s telematics cannot be accessed, transmitted, collected, or stored by others.

NAFA is the association for professionals who manage fleets of vehicles of all types and sizes in North America and across the globe.