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OEMs aren't just connecting cars for the fun of it; the idea is to actually improve their customers' experience with the cars. But right now, we're still missing an actual killer app—and to be honest, data on how many customers renew those cell contracts for their vehicles. A survey out this week from Solace that polled 1,500 connected car owners found that they still don't really trust the technology.
[...] But the bit of Solace's survey I found most interesting was the widespread ignorance regarding data collection. Only 38 percent of connected car drivers knew that their cars could store personally identifiable information [PII] about them, with 48 percent unaware this was the case. And that's important because that PII is being viewed as a goldmine.
[...] "[The fuel companies] want to offer you more than fuel," [Ben] Volkow said. "Many times, the fuel stations are also interested in anonymized data—why do some people always stop, do they take whatever's available or a specific brand, places to build new stations, and so on."
What's more, unlike selling cars, selling data is a high-margin business—between 80- and 90-percent profit. "A big part of the investment is already done," he said. "The databases are built, SIMs and modems are in the cars; they've crossed the Rubicon."
[...] Volkow thinks that drivers will be happy to share this data, as long as they get some value out of it, like free servicing or micropayments per mile traveled. But he also thinks consumer education is vital. "People tend to be more demanding when it comes to cars; they don't think of them as the same as mobile devices. You have to convince them there's a benefit," he told me.
Source: ArsTechnica
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 24 2018, @03:46AM
I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) [wikipedia.org] which has been well controlled for fifteen years through the use of a CPAP [wikipedia.org] machine.
For most of the time I've been using such machines, they've had an SD card which recorded my usage patterns (to aid in treatment, as explained by my pulmonologist). Last year, I was provided with a new machine which had not only an SD card, but both a WiFi tranceiver and a cellular modem.
When I asked the medical staff about it, they were unconcerned and just wanted to make sure that I knew how to ensure that the SD card was collecting data, with the strong suggestion that I should bring the SD card when seeing my pulmonologist.
They did not discourage the use of, or instruct me in how to disable the network connectivity. I took that upon myself, as I had no idea to whom or for what purpose such data would be sent.
Several weeks later, I received a phone call from the *manufacturer* wanting to know how "things were going," and encouraged me to enable the network connectivity on the device. I informed them that the data collected was my personal medical information and that I would only share that data with my doctor. I further informed them that "how things were going" was none of their damn business.
The rather pleasant phone rep continued to be pleasant, but seemed confused about why I was unwilling to share private medical data with her company.
The moral of this story is that these days, any manufacturer who can fit some sort of network connectivity into their device will do so in an effort to boost profits using your personal information.
Since most people are oblivious ("wow! this device must be really advanced! It's got WiFi/mobile tech in it!") to the *actual* purposes behind this sort of behavior, they happily comply with requests to hand over any information without question or concern.
Education about this stuff is, iMHO, quite important. However, in an environment where someone with 20+ years of infosec experience tries to explain to their family members why putting every imaginable app on their smartphone isn't the smartest idea, they're dismissed as not knowing what they're talking about, one can only shake one's head and sigh.