Rapid implementation required for the new industry standard for cybersecurity, says Continental

Drivers in Germany, the U.S.A., China, and Japan are looking for offerings and services based on the digitalization of vehicles, according to the findings of the latest Continental Mobility Study. But when it comes to new mobility services, the protection of personal data is important to those surveyed: Not even one in two drivers would share personal driving data with their insurance company, for example.

“Data is an obligation. Data protection is essential for us as a technology company, our products, our services and our processes. In the long term, only this stance will strengthen the confidence of customers and consumers in new, data-based mobility services,” said Continental CEO Elmar Degenhart to mark European Data Protection Day on January 28, 2019.

European Data Protection Day was initiated by the Council of Europe in 2006. It is reminiscent of the Council of Europe Convention 108, passed in 1981. This convention requires signatory states to guarantee rights and basic freedoms with regard to automatic processing of personal data.

Data and information security are requirements for data protection in the car. This is all the more important since in the future virtually all new vehicles will be connected to the internet. Continental is therefore calling for the fastest possible implementation of the new industry standard for cybersecurity (ISO/SAE 21434 “Road Vehicles – Cybersecurity Engineering”).

The new standard covers the life cycle of vehicles, starting with development and production to software updates, rapid response to new cybersecurity intelligence, and safer and data-protected decommissioning.