Dive Brief:
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U.S. Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate vulnerabilities in automobile information systems.
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Last week, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recalled 1.4 million vehicles to fix a software defect that could allow hackers to control multiple vehicle functions.
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Earlier this month, Markey and Blumenthal introduced the Security and Privacy in Your Car Act, which would require the federal government to establish standards ensuring that automakers protect drivers against vehicle cyber-attacks.
Dive Insight:
In addition to the legislation, the senators are asking NHTSA to look into cybersecurity vulnerabilities in other wireless connected cars.
"We were deeply troubled to learn that these software defects can be exploited by malicious hackers to potentially wreak havoc on our roads," the senators said in a letter to NHTSA. "These revelations highlight the acute risks now facing modern motorists as automakers continue to connect cars ever closer to the digital world."
Markey also criticized Chrysler's response to the announcement that its system had been hacked.
"Despite knowing about this security gap for nearly nine months, Chrysler is only now recalling 1.4 million vehicles to fix [it]," Markey said.
The NHTSA said last week that it plans to look into how effective Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ patch will be in protecting its vehicles from hackers.