Increased Cyber Assaults on Automotive Sector Leading to Heavier Financial Impact
Rewritten Article:
Revving up can be dangerous – not just for your driving skills, but also for your vehicle's digital security. The automotive industry, along with smart mobility providers, experienced a significant surge in costly cyberattacks, as per a new report by cybersecurity firm Upstream Security Inc.
In 2024, approximately 60% of cybersecurity incidents in the automotive and smart mobility sectors targeted thousands to millions of mobility assets, like vehicles, electric vehicle charging stations, smart mobility apps, and connected devices. This alarming reality was revealed in the 2025 Global Automotive and Smart Mobility Cybersecurity Report by Upstream.
Massive-scale incidents, impacting millions of vehicles, increased dramatically, growing from 5% in 2023 to an unsettling 19% in 2024. Their grip on the industry only became stronger over time, accounting for nearly 60% of all incidents between 2023 and 2024, according to the report.
"These attackers are increasingly aware of their potential leverage," said Jason Masker, director of solutions architecture at Upstream, during an interview at a cybersecurity conference in Dearborn, Michigan. "They see an opportunity to extort money by threatening millions of vehicles, damaging reputations, and forcing quiet settlements."
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The generally known threats of hacking car controls still exist, but they're far from the only concern. Researchers at Duke University found that adaptive cruise control systems could be tricked using radar, potentially leading to catastrophic collisions.
Other cyberattacks outlined in the report include:
- The US division of a prominent Japanese automaker being hit with ransomware, resulting in the theft of 22GB of sensitive vehicle and customer data.
- A ransomware attack on a Chinese tier-two supplier, leading to a massive data breach of 1.2TB, affecting both domestic and global manufacturers.
- The compromise of customer personal information by the Italian branch of a German automaker.
Car dealerships were particularly vulnerable to these digital breaches. One major ransomware attack on a dealership management software provider affected around 15,000 dealerships, causing a three-week service outage, multi-billion dollar economic damage, and a staggering $25 million ransom demand.
The Anderson Economic Group-AEG, estimated that franchised auto dealers incurred a total direct loss of $1.02 billion as a result of these attacks. This figure includes the losses from about 56,000 new unit sales, lost earnings on used car sales, lost earnings on parts and service, additional staffing and IT service costs, and additional floor plan interest costs on inventory.
The escalating efforts of so-called 'black hat' attackers continue to grow, with attacks even targeting the computer systems that track commercial truck drivers' mandatory service logs for ransom.
"They're learning and adapting from every interaction," noted Masker. "If their previous attempt didn't yield enough payoff, they may escalate their efforts."
All this suggests that malicious cyberattackers have shifted their focus from individual drivers to larger targets – automakers and suppliers – who would suffer devastating financial consequences if their computer systems were disabled for an extended period.
"If they stand to gain hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars annually, a month-long shutdown wouldn't be a significant setback," noted Masker.
Cyberattackers have indeed changed their strategies from merely disabling systems to extract ransom payments. Traditional ransomware tactics have proven less effective for attackers, so they've become more creative.
"Data encryption is time-consuming, and many companies can restore data from backups," the report explained.
The persistent increase in cyberattacks has exposed a growing gap between regulations designed to prevent such attacks and companies' efforts to stay one step ahead of the attackers, due to a 'false sense of security.'
The report advises automakers and mobility stakeholders to go beyond regulatory compliance to tackle the issues that pose grave risks to safety, operational availability, and data privacy.
Upstream employs a multi-tiered strategy for countering cyberattacks. One of its key tactics involves monitoring activities across more than 25 million vehicles, ingesting "dozens of billions of transactions," providing its clients with timely warnings about possible attacks.
The company also infiltrates certain forums frequented by auto enthusiasts to detect potential conversations about malicious activities. "There's a wide variety of auto enthusiasts out there," explained Masker. "While many are solely focused on enhancing their vehicle's performance, some may inadvertently uncover something that could be leveraged for nefarious purposes."
With AI expected to play a greater role in detecting such threats, Upstream's CEO, Yoav Levy, predicts an "acceleration in AI adoption, integrating it across detection, investigation, and mitigation processes."
Experts in the report predict an increase in cyberattacks against the auto industry this year, targeting everything from connected electric vehicle battery charging networks to manufacturing operations. The motivation for these attacks remains straightforward, according to Masker: "It's always about the payday."
- The widespread cyberattacks in the automotive and smart mobility sectors, as revealed in the 2025 Global Automotive and Smart Mobility Cybersecurity Report, have not only targeted individual vehicles but also extended to transportation infrastructure, with the potential to impact billions of dollars in economic value.
- As prominent cybersecurity firm Upstream Security Inc. reported, the use of radar to trick adaptive cruise control systems in vehicles could lead to catastrophic collisions, demonstrating the widening threat landscape in the transportation sector.
- In response to the increasing number and creativity of cyberattacks, Upstream has adopted a multi-tiered strategy that includes monitoring activities across 25 million vehicles and infiltrating certain auto enthusiast forums to detect potential malicious activities, highlighting the billion-dollar battle between cybersecurity firms and the cyberattackers targeting the transportation and automotive industries.
