Researchers analyze data sharing practices of modern connected vehicles across nineteen different brands

A new study from Northeastern University and Consumer Reports, as detailed by Ars Technica, reveals that connected cars frequently transmit user data to advertisers and major technology firms. By testing 21 vehicles, researchers identified persistent privacy concerns, noting that using companion apps often significantly increases the volume of shared information.

Ars Technica reports that researchers evaluated 21 vehicles from 19 brands by monitoring network traffic during various scenarios, including idling and active driving. Unlike previous 2023 research by the Mozilla Foundation, which relied on analyzing privacy policies, this study measured actual data transmission. The team even utilized a Faraday tent to test if electric vehicles would redirect traffic to Wi-Fi if cellular signals were blocked. While researchers could not decrypt the contents of data packets due to security measures, they successfully tracked DNS traffic, TLS handshakes, and transmission patterns.

The findings highlight that connected cars routinely communicate with third-party advertisers and tech companies like Microsoft and Adobe. This investigation provides empirical evidence of the privacy risks inherent in modern automotive technology, confirming that data sharing is a standard feature of vehicle connectivity. The study underscores that the integration of companion apps exacerbates these privacy issues, as these applications often facilitate additional data collection and transmission. This research serves as a technical follow-up to earlier industry-wide warnings about the poor privacy standards prevalent in the automotive sector.

Source: This study looks at how and with whom connected cars share your data