Do modern cars “spy” on you?

Safer, easier and connected driving are three of the intriguing features that one would obtain from buying, owning and driving a new car.

The feeling and experience are amazing, and some also have amazing looks too. Going from one place to another, turning in one direction to another, avoiding traffic and collisions, while also maintaining the ideal and safe driving speed, is a given possibility, thanks to the GPS (global positioning system) on board and the fitted sensors all around the different components of the car, from mirrors, windows, tires, bumpers, etc.

You could easily connect your smart devices, be it a phone and/or tablet, to the car’s infotainment system to sync, share music, calls, and some of the apps too while commuting from one place to another, giving you all the experience of a truly connected car.

That’s the reality today, and you are a witness indeed.

Now I am not talking about the future autonomous or self-driving cars like the ones Tesla, Waymo, General Motors, Uber, Toyota, Nvidia, Ford, Google, Apple, etc. and approximately over 25 other companies are working on.

I’m talking literally about the present cars that you may probably own and would own when purchasing a new car.

What I shared of features is what you would expect to get as a standard package.

What you may most probably not know is whether these cars may be “spying on you.”

Yes, and that’s the gist of my article in the coming weeks, starting with today as a base.

Let’s face it. We are living in a world enabled by technology from smart homes, smart offices, smart buildings, smart cities, and yes, soon, in an intelligent world.

You may refer to my couple of posts in the past on the “intelligent world,” where I describe some of the interesting things leading ICT solution providers are working on today, along with the progress till date as witnessed from attending both the largest technology conference and exhibition/GITEX (in Dubai) and the Mobile World Conference/MWC (in Spain).

“Intelligent world” simply means everything getting connected on the superinformation highway (the Internet).

Cars are no exception where this simple mode of transportation becomes a complex machine that doesn’t only help you commute from one place to another easily and safely, yet also helps and keeps you connected by gathering all the data that emanates from not only the tech-fitted components within the car but also the other smart devices and wearables that you own and are paired, connected and synchronised to.

By now you are very aware of the kind of information as a form of data that your smart phone and wearables have and can share — from calls, messages, photos, videos, contacts, logs, and the sheer personal things you create, store, and/or process with them.

This information, coupled with our habits, routes, preferences, and everything to every place we go, is also shared and probably stored in this modern car.

Who is in the car, what you talk to them about, and to some extent do you too, is possible data that can also be captured, thanks to the advanced infotainment device, sensors, and all-around cameras as well.

Believe me, everything is possible, and as we have set the basics clear, I will shed light in my future articles on how the spying really works and what kind of information is shared.

To conclude, I am sure you agree that with the technology in place today and inside the modern cars we drive, everything is possible.

What you may, however, not have realized before is the kind of things and information these cars have on us, and where does this information go, to whom exactly, and how they are being used.

I will illustrate in my up-coming article how modern cars are spying on us.

Until we catch up again next week, stay safe and enjoy the National Day holidays.