According to Salesforce, 30% of auto industry employees don't check security protocols before trying a new tool. This could put their company and customer data at risk.
The Alarming Growth of Automotive API Attacks
Cybersecurity is a growing concern for the automotive industry, especially as companies store and use exponentially increasing amounts of data to power connected car functions.
According to Upstream, the number of automotive API attacks has increased by 380% in the last year alone. And, in a Salesforce survey, 34 percent of auto industry employees said their companies receive more security threats now than they did two years ago.
Research from Salesforce examines the impact of the gap between corporate safety and employee behavior, and reveals the need for automotive organizations to provide employees with trusted, easy-to-use technology.
Auto industry workers risk using personal devices on the job
42% of employees in the automotive industry have tried AI-generated work at work, compared to 15% in healthcare and 12% in government.
As the industry transitions to software-defined vehicles and adopts new technologies to digitize and personalize the customer experience, protecting sensitive information about vehicles, drivers and passengers is becoming increasingly important. Research shows that there is still a long way to go:
- 49% of automotive industry employees believe that generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT and DALL-E) is safe to use at work.
- 50% said they personally don't have to worry about safety at work.
- Only 44% of automotive industry employees believe their connected devices (e.g. mobile phones, laptops) are a cybersecurity risk.
- 64% access work documents or systems from personal devices (e.g. mobile phones, laptops).
- 68% believe that if they can access something on their work device, it must be safe.
- 63% believe their personal devices are as secure as their work devices.
"As cars become more connected and the automotive industry continues to digitize its operations, more data will be generated, exposing the industry to higher risks," said Achyut Jajoo, senior vice president and general manager of Automotive and Manufacturing at Salesforce . It is important that automotive industry employees understand the importance of cyber hygiene and take a proactive approach to keeping data safe."
Data Security in the Automotive Industry
Employees are only one piece of the puzzle. While 72 percent of auto industry employees say they have a safety-first culture and 74 percent say their companies have the tools they need to keep data safe, 21 percent say security protocols are not strictly enforced.
Company-sponsored training is a natural progression to closing these gaps, with a majority (71%) saying they receive the training needed to keep their data safe. However, according to the data, the training itself needs to improve to make safety a priority and work in practice:
- 20% of automotive industry employees see safety training as having no value, and the same number feel it is irrelevant to their jobs.
- 26% don't know what to do in the event of a breach.
- 29% accidentally click on a suspicious link at work.
- 35% use the same password for personal and work-related logins.
- Only 35% use multi-factor authentication every time.
- 20% never use a VPN for online work.
"Automotive companies can foster a strong culture of trust and security by continuously engaging their employees in protecting customer and company information. They can enhance their capabilities through regular updates and patching technology with security at its core," Jajoo continued .
