Cyber Hacks Could Cost Auto Industry $24 Billion, New Upstream Security Study Reports

HERZLIYA, Israel, December 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Cyber hacks might cost the auto industry $24 billion within five years, according a new study released by Upstream Security, the first and only cloud-based Smart Mobility Cybersecurity provider.

Upstream issued its first comprehensive report studying the impact of more than 170 documented, Smart Mobility, cyber incidents reported between 2010-2018 and projects future trends based on that eight-year history.

Upstream Security Global Automotive Cybersecurity Report 2019  outlines how hackers attacked -- from physical to long-range to wireless and more -- and who they targeted in the Smart Mobility space.

"With every new service or connected entity, a new attack vector is born," said Oded Yarkoni, Head of Marketing at Upstream Security. "These attacks can be triggered from anywhere placing both drivers and passengers at risk. Issues range from safety critical vehicle systems, to data center hacks on back-end servers, to identity theft in car sharing, and even privacy issues. The risk is immense. Just one cyber-hack can cost an automaker $1.1 billion, while we are seeing that the cost for the industry as a whole could reach $24 billion by 2023."

Increasingly, the automotive world is becoming a Smart Mobility ecosystem, according to Yarkoni. Connected cars, autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing services and aggregated transport of all kinds are adding complexity and risk at an incredible rate.  This report is the first of its kind; based on real-life incidents and provides an insight into who is at risk, how key stakeholders are protecting themselves and emerging trends for 2019.

Key Highlights and Insights  

• While car manufacturers are an obvious target, Tier 1 suppliers, fleet operations, telematic service providers, car sharing companies and public and private transportation providers are facing an ever-increasing threat.
• In 2018, the number of cybercriminals (what the industry calls Black hats) attacks eclipsed the number of White hat (security specialists who breaks into protected systems to test and asses their security) incidents. This is the first time in the history that has happened in the Smart Mobility space.
• Security needs to be multi-layered. This includes in-vehicle for close-proximity attacks, automotive cloud security for multiple vehicles, services and applications, and network security for the network side of the architecture.
• 42 percent of automotive cyber-security incidents involve back-end application servers.
• Two new kinds of cyber-attacks are emerging through car sharing and driver exchange. These are having a measurable impact on fraud and data privacy.

These highlights and more are in the full report, available for download here. 

For additional data insights about cybersecurity incidents contained in the report -  https://www.upstream.auto/research/automotive-cybersecurity/    

About Upstream Security 
Upstream improves the safety and security of connected vehicles and services built around them by monitoring business critical events and identifying cyber threats in real-time via a centralized cloud-based analysis of multiple automotive data feeds, including telematics and mobile applications. The solution is 100% agent-less and does not require any hardware or software inside the vehicles. Upstream's solution is already used by millions of vehicles worldwide, providing an effective and innovative method in detecting threat anomalies and mission critical events using a combination of machine learning, cybersecurity engines, and service policy enforcement - the result is enabling Smart Mobility services to run safely and smoothly while providing the customer with the real-time alerts tailored to their needs. Founded in 2017 by cybersecurity veterans from Check Point, Imperva and Juniper, Upstream Security is backed by Charles River Ventures, Glilot Capital Partners and Maniv Mobility. Learn more at http://www.upstream.auto.

Connect with Upstream Security  
Press Contact: [email protected] 
Converse on Twitter: @UpstreamAuto  
Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/upstream-security/ 

SOURCE Upstream Security