It’s clear the Connected Car revolution is under way and that many drivers love the idea of accessing information, including their contacts, with hands-free telematics technology. But is it possible the very companies who produce cars with this technology could use it against us?
According to a recent report, the communications platform found in the new, 100 per cent electric Nissan Leaf might actually be sharing location data with a central network. It has some critics complaining that Nissan has stepped beyond the acceptable boundaries for “connected car” technology.
“Nissan’s Carwings system connects all Nissan Leafs to a network, wirelessly feeding their energy economy statistics to a central server,” says tech blog Mashable in a new report, which finds that the whole point of such a system is to monitor how various vehicles and customers compare in terms of fuel economy.
“There is no way to prevent this data from being sent, nor does Nissan…warn you that all of your location data can be flung off to random third parties,” complained Casey Halverson, a Seattle-based tech expert. According to Halverson, location, speed, direction and navigation destination for Nissan Leaf vehicles can all be accessed online.
Of course, there’s no evidence yet that the system has been in any way abused — but that doesn’t stop Halverson from worrying that it could easily be used by a hacker, law enforcement or even the government to keep tabs on a group or individual.
It’s unclear how this information will affect sales of the $33,000 Leaf, which is currently only available in seven U.S. states, with plans to expand orders to seven more states this summer.
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