Comment by bigfatkitten
13 hours ago
Most (if not all) cars on the road are terrible in terms of the security of the infotainment system and other onboard electronics. What makes this even worse is the sensors they have onboard these days; the microphones, cameras, GNSS receivers, wifi and BT radios make them into mobile surveillance platforms.
In March 2026, a bunch of controls were added to the Australian Government Information Security Manual[0] basically instructing people to not connect government devices to the infotainment systems of any vehicles, or to view or discuss anything sensitive in the presence of one.
> Security Control: 2099; Revision: 0; Updated: Mar-26; Marking: NC, OS, P, S, TS Mobile devices are not connected to the infotainment systems of connected vehicles.
> Security Control: 2100; Revision: 0; Updated: Mar-26; Marking: NC, OS, P, S, TS Sensitive or classified data is not viewed on mobile devices within or near connected vehicles.
> Security Control: 2101; Revision: 0; Updated: Mar-26; Marking: NC, OS, P, S, TS Sensitive or classified phone calls and conversations are not conducted within or near connected vehicles.
[0] https://www.cyber.gov.au/business-government/asds-cyber-secu...
Isn't NC the absolute lowest in the sensitivity system?
The point is that they want all government employees/politicians/contractors etc to understand the risks of on-vehicle electronics.
And they’ll still get very senior, and supposedly intelligent people saying “it’s just a car”.
It means “not classified”.
They’re fine. It’s a car radio, not a critical system.
The people who are vulnerable to this type of attack have procedures and trusted equipment to conduct their business (or not). US police agencies have had rules like this for rental cars since OnStar came out.
Most of the dangerous telematics information for the average person is offered for sale anyway.