We see that technology has made a lot of advancements in this day and age – which is a great thing as it makes life easy.
But, just like with many other types of technology, the tech that is used in cars these days can be at risk of attack.
The future of cars promises fully autonomous cars that drive by themselves. And to date, some of the most popular technological features in cars include things like reading social media posts aloud, the vehicle doing parallel parking itself, and much more.
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But, the more your vehicle is technologically advanced, the more it is vulnerable to theft or other risks of damage.
We see in the news that hackers are capable of controlling certain systems in a tech-rich car such as manipulating the steering to the controlling of transmission. Such a situation is not a good place to be in – and anyone under such conditions is vulnerable to risks.
In this blog post, we will look at the ways you can prevent your car from being hacked.
Stay in contact with the Car Manufacturer
One of the most essential things you can do in terms of taking measures to make sure your car is safe – is to be in touch with the company that has manufactured your car.
This aspect is stressed the most by security experts of several experts who deal in the prevention of thefts due to cyber attacks.
Staying in contact refers to the effort of always keeping the manufacturer apprised about your most up-to-date contact information.
This way, the supplier will be able to always contact you in time as soon as a system update occurs and can give you tech-related recalls.
Another measure is to regularly check the website provided by your car manufacturer where they post the recent updates you can access by logging in to your account.
Keep the Car’s Software Updated
Using vehicle factory service repair manuals is a good practice in order to keep your car performing well and ensure it’s safe to ride in. However, when we talk about the software side where there’s a high-security risk – it’s due diligence to keep the car’s embedded software updated.
You need to always be vigilant, so whenever the car manufacturer asks you to bring your car for a software update – then you should visit them as soon as possible.
The need to have the updated software installed is real as it saves your car from being susceptible to security breaches.
Car Owners Need to Firewall their FOB
Sophisticated burglars play a lot of tactics to manipulate the technology of your car. Say, you have left your keyless-entry fob on a table in your bedroom. What burglars can do is they will use electronic signal-amplifying devices from 80 to 120 feet away to unlock the car regardless of the place where you parked it.
You can prevent such attacks from occurring by simply halting the electronic signals from the fob. This is done by keeping the electronic fob in a small box made from metal. Another handy prevention method is to carry around your fob in a holder that’s specially designed to deal with attacks made by hackers.
You can make the car more secure by simply locking it in the garage – so it’s harder for someone to steal your vehicle.
Turn Off Your Bluetooth Device When Not in Use
Security experts advise all car owners to not let the Bluetooth be kept on when not in use. This point is an important one.
It’s essential that if you’re not making use of the Bluetooth connectivity in your car, then the Bluetooth support feature must be turned off on any type of device you are using – as well as the car.
It’s due diligence to turn the Bluetooth off when not in use because the Bluetooth technology is susceptible to data breaches by hackers or the ones who have learned a set number of sophisticated technological skills.
On the other hand, by turning on the Bluetooth for no reason, you are giving direct access to breachers so they easily have your device crashed or have ample time to find security loopholes.
Make Your Wifi Password Invisible
Many car owners have a wifi hotspot attached to their cars – for the purpose of locking and unlocking the car doors from a distance. Also, this technology goes as far as to start the engine of your vehicle – and so it’s necessary to not keep the password in your vehicle.
A lot of people take this casually and often end up exposing themselves to the risk of a data breach – ultimately leading to vehicle theft. So, always make sure you never leave your password in your vehicle.
Do Not Program Your Home Address into GPS
For sophisticated burglars, it’s very easy to hack into your GPS and find out the location of your home. And what’s worse is that if they have access to your garage door control, they can not only get to your car but may also get inside the house.
Use Reputable Shops
This point is equally important in terms of the fact that reputable shops or brands are known for making sure the personal data of their customers remains confidential.
When you leave your car, you leave it vulnerable to hacking. A reputable store makes sure your driving data is not leaked – saving your vehicle from potential data attacks.
