To add to other privacy concerns for American consumers, automobile manufacturers are allegedly collecting personal data at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, there have already been security breaches involving automakers. General Motors (GM) announced in May 2022 that it was hit by a credential stuffing attack that exposed customer information and allowed hackers to redeem rewards points and gift cards.
GM said that they detected the malicious login activity and began a data theft investigation. GM posted a data breach notification and sent notices to affected customers.
A credential stuffing attack is possible when credentials are obtained from a previous data breach. Such data was likely not obtained from GM but a third party.
The stolen personal data of affected GM customers includes full names, email addresses, home addresses, usernames and phone numbers, last known and saved favorite location information, avatars and photos, profile pictures, search and destination information, and Wi-Fi hotspot settings.
Recent reports note that some modern cars collect a vast amount of personal data, and may track where we live, who we text, and what restaurants we visit. Collected data isn’t delivered to car owners, but rather to the automakers, or third parties willing to pay for the data. The data generated by cars may be worth billions of dollars each year.