Connected Car Tech Creating Anxiety Over Cyber Attack Risks: Munich Re

April 7, 2021

Consumers are increasingly worried about cyber attack vulnerabilities with connected and automated vehicles, according to a new Munich Re/HSB survey.

Approximately 37 percent of consumers responding to the survey said they were either somewhat or very concerned about both cyber security and safety of vehicles with internet connections and automated vehicles. Similarly, 35 percent expressed worry that a virus, hacking or other kind of cyber attack could damage or destroy a vehicle’s data, software or operating systems.d

Underscoring the problem, one in 10 consumers reported a hacking incident or other kind of cyber attack affected their vehicle, up 3 percent from a similar HSB poll the previous year.

“Our cars are more connected than ever,” Timothy Zeilman, vice president for HSB, said in prepared remarks. “It’s hard for consumers to keep up with rapidly evolving vehicle technology and they wonder if their privacy and personal information is protected.”

Other findings from the survey:

HSB commissioned Zogby Analytics to conduct the cyber/auto survey in December 2020. More than 1,500 U.S. adults took part in the survey, which covered their attitudes, experiences and concerns about cyber safety. Based on a confidence level of 95 percent, the margin for error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. That means all other things being equal, the identical survey would have results within the margin of error 95 times out of 100.

Source: HSB