Mobile Security Threats in Connected Car Services: What You Need to Know

Connected Cars are Prime Targets for Cybercriminals

As connected cars become mainstream, their architectures are becoming increasingly sophisticated, creating a rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. The automotive ecosystem now includes a wide array of players, from suppliers and data brokers to third-party service providers.

Connected cars function as advanced data hubs, gathering information like GPS location, driver behavior, and engine diagnostics, which can support applications in fuel efficiency, safety, and performance. While this wealth of personalized data is crucial for these applications, it also makes connected vehicles prime targets for large-scale, coordinated cyberattacks.

Insecure Mobile Apps are a Key Attack Vector

Insecure mobile apps represent a significant attack vector within the connected car ecosystem, offering criminals a gateway to access vehicle systems and sensitive data. As mobile apps are widely used by car owners for remote functions and diagnostics, ensuring their security is essential to protect both users and the broader connected vehicle infrastructure.

API Vulnerabilities Widen the Attack Surface

APIs are essential to the automotive data ecosystem, connecting a vehicle’s internal systems, enabling mobile app functionality, and allowing third-party services to provide features like emergency assistance and energy management. Car manufacturers rely on APIs for critical functions such as software updates, using cloud-based, cloud-to-vehicle, and mobile-to-vehicle APIs in their connected car architectures.

However, APIs have vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit, especially through mobile apps that can be reverse-engineered to uncover weaknesses. Cases have already occurred where hackers accessed account credentials to launch remote attacks on vehicle APIs.

Threats to Connected Cars

Connected car apps are exposed to various threat vectors, such as unauthorized access, insecure data transmission, app vulnerabilities, malware, and physical security risks. These threats can endanger user safety, compromise data privacy, and disrupt vehicle functionality.

Zero Trust Principles for Automotive

Zero Trust is essential for connected vehicles, which lack a clear perimeter and face evolving, dynamic threats due to their extensive interconnectivity and reliance on third-party APIs. Zero Trust principles—such as "never trust, always verify" for every access request, implementing layered defense strategies, continuous runtime security monitoring, and assuming breaches—provide a comprehensive framework for the automotive industry. This approach allows businesses to manage risks effectively by preparing for intrusions, rotating API keys and certificates, and swiftly blocking suspicious devices and users. 

Impact of Third-Party Apps and Bots

Connected car apps face multiple security threats beyond direct control breaches, such as:

• Unauthorized third-party apps that replicate official functions, causing increased cloud costs, operational distractions for DevOps, and potential damage to brand reputation due to poor user experience.
• Direct API access by hackers and enthusiasts, who exploit APIs for tracking or automation, creating high system loads, evading security blocks, and exposing vulnerabilities that lead to API abuse.
• Bots present a significant risk, especially in apps with social media features, where they generate fake content, commit monetary fraud, and potentially launch denial-of-service attacks, disrupting app functionality.