NAFA Invited to Join Exclusive Auto-ISAC

Picture this: a law enforcement officer is in high-speed pursuit of a murder suspect on the highways of Los Angeles. The officer carefully maneuvers her vehicle through traffic, sirens blaring and lights flashing, in an attempt to catch up to and stop the suspect’s vehicle. Suddenly, the engine in the officer’s vehicle cuts off, the vehicle dangerously coasts to a stop, and the suspect gets away.

Or, how about this? An undercover officer sits in a parked, unmarked vehicle on a dimly lit street in Manhattan. He’s watching a building where a suspected drug trafficker runs his operations. Shady-looking characters go in and out of the building all night, seemingly oblivious to the officer’s presence. What the officer doesn’t know, however, is that his vehicle has been hacked through a crack in the police department’s fuel-tracking software, and the criminals know exactly where he is. And his life in danger.

While I’ve taken a bit of editorial license with both situations above, they are based on real-life stories from NAFA members and other sources. With today’s high-tech vehicles running on multiple computers and connected together through a maze of networks, it is possible to break into the vehicle’s command center.  Hackers just have to find a hole somewhere to sneak in. (Let’s not forget, too, that vehicles can very easily be infected with viruses or malware through the OBDII port.)

Since 2015, NAFA, as the sole representative voice for the fleet community, has been presenting fleet’s concerns and needs to lawmakers and regulators on the subject of cybersecurity. That’s why we were honored when the folks at Auto-ISAC, the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center, invited NAFA to join their organization as a strategic partner.

Officially established in August 2015, Auto-ISAC is an alliance of auto industry suppliers and automakers created to enhance cybersecurity awareness and collaboration across the global automotive industry.  Auto-ISAC operates a central hub for sharing, tracking and analyzing intelligence about cyber threats, vulnerabilities and incidents related to the connected vehicle. Auto-ISAC Members account for more than 99 percent of light-duty vehicles in North America, with over 30 global OEM and supplier Members.

As part our agreement with Auto-ISAC, NAFA will have access to information, reports, webinars, workshops, and other educational tools we can share with you. We will also collaborate on articles for our magazine, FLEETSolutions, develop sessions for our annual conference, and create a “best practices” document for fleets to identify, assess, and report cyber incidents. Most importantly, we will have a seat at the table with the most influential organizations that will shape the future of vehicle cybersecurity. 

As always, NAFA is proud to represent and advocate for you and the entire fleet profession in partnerships like this, as well as in the legislative and regulatory arenas. No other organization can do what NAFA does in the area of advocacy. Our strength is in our numbers and in our diversity. Thank you for letting us represent you!

Sincerely,

 

Phil