Skip to main content

Automakers, US DOT agree on cybersecurity

The US Transportation Department and 17 automakers have reached agreement on efforts to enhance safety, including sharing information to thwart cyber-attacks on their increasingly wired vehicles, says Bloomberg. Companies including General Motors, Ford and Toyota also agreed to reform the way they report fatalities, injuries and warranty claims to the government. The companies are to meet regularly to exchange information and identify emerging safety issues. “Today DOT and the automakers represented h
January 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The US Transportation Department and 17 automakers have reached agreement on efforts to enhance safety, including sharing information to thwart cyber-attacks on their increasingly wired vehicles, says Bloomberg.

Companies including 948 General Motors, 278 Ford and 1686 Toyota also agreed to reform the way they report fatalities, injuries and warranty claims to the government. The companies are to meet regularly to exchange information and identify emerging safety issues.

“Today DOT and the automakers represented here are taking a strong stance in favour of a new approach, an approach that leans heavily on being proactive and less heavily on being reactive,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in Detroit Friday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Company executives, including General Motors chief executive officer Mary Barra and 1674 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne had met with Foxx in Washington in December. The transportation secretary asked the companies to come up with voluntary measures they could agree to outside the traditional regulatory framework.

The companies and regulators have agreed to suggest best practices on cybersecurity, share lessons learned and find ways to engage researchers to identify emerging threats. They will work with the information sharing and analysis centre established by the auto industry last year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • AtkinsRéalis gets Georgia DoT resilience deal
    June 18, 2024
    Weather events and emergency transportation planning are at the heart of new contract
  • MaaS Market Conferences on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018
    December 20, 2017
    Momentum shift in prospect as authorities accelerate plans to rethink transport provision. TS International’s second, two-day international MaaS Market conference takes place on 20 and 21 February 2018. The Mobility as a Service (MaaS) event is ideal for all organisations exploring new ways of getting people to their destination and new methods for them to pay for transport services.
  • Here’s why WiM is value for money
    January 23, 2025
    Weigh in Motion systems are not new. What is new is their ability to collect more data and – importantly – more accurate data about axle loading and vehicle weight. Despite the obvious benefits, including safer highways and possibility of automated legal weight enforcement, obstacles remain for faster uptake. David Arminas reports on the manufacturers’ perspective…
  • Alcohol interlocks aid drink drive adherence
    October 28, 2016
    The use of alcohol interlocks to prevent drink driving and change driver behaviour is gaining ground around the world but needs greater buy-in from authorities as Colin Sowman discovers. The often repeated mantra says that prevention is better than cure - and none more so than in the case of drink-driving. The introduction of the breathalyser provided an objective indication of alcohol consumption instead of having drivers touch their nose or walk in a straight line. Initially breathalysers were used as a r