Gone are the days when every car or truck was its own island, disconnected from the rest of the world until the driver stopped and exited the vehicle. These days, automotive vehicles are connected to networks that power their navigation systems, communication systems, WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth, and more. While these conveniences make modern road trips much safer and more comfortable, they also bring an added measure of risk in the form of vulnerability to cyber attacks.
In addition to vehicles, the automotive industry faces cyber risks in operations, from research and development to manufacturing to sales and service. Most recently, an attack on a primary provider of operations software for auto dealerships impacted sales and services at thousands of dealerships across North America, causing many to resort to manual processes. While the specific methodology of the attackers hasn’t been released, a statement shared by the company has urged dealerships to be aware of phishing attempts.
Cyber attacks create massive ripple effects, impacting individual customers in their vehicles as well as organizational operations on a national scale. To prevent them, companies must implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures from the ground up.
And that starts with identity and access management.
The Right Tools to Keep the Bad Guys Out
Identity access management strategies aim to ensure that the right people – and only those people – have the right access at the right time. The best way to achieve this is by creating a zero-trust IT environment. Zero-trust architecture is built on the principle of least privilege, which limits access rights to the least level of privilege needed to perform a task. In a zero-trust environment, standing privileges are eliminated and users receive privileged access as needed.
But that generates a lot of work for IT, especially when permissions and passwords must be managed manually. The right strategy, however, can automate much of the process, locking down systems and strengthening security by preventing unauthorized access. An effective cybersecurity strategy should include these tools:
- Privileged Access Management (PAM) – PAM implements least-privilege principles by removing standing administrative access rights from all user accounts. Privileged access is granted on a just-in-time basis based on predefined rules, roles, or specific requests. PAM tools like AutoElevate by CyberFOX automate this process so that users get the access they need quickly without disrupting their workflow.
- Password Management – Password management works hand-in-hand with PAM to lock down user accounts and prevent unauthorized access. Password managers enforce security best practices and password policies, and they prevent unsafe practices like credential sharing or reusing passwords across multiple accounts.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) – Passwords can be hacked – even when they follow best practices. Within a zero-trust IT environment, MFA adds an additional layer of protection to the user password to prevent unauthorized access using stolen credentials. Most cyber insurance providers require MFA to qualify for coverage.
- Usage audits – Usage audits show user activity across applications and accounts and how often they are used. Conducting them regularly helps organizations pinpoint orphaned accounts (which could provide an inroad for an attacker) and unauthorized activity in the system.
Keeping the Automotive Industry Safe from Cyber Threats
As cyber threats escalate each year, attacks are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to identify early. A critical practice for preventing them is to remove the possibility of an account being accessed or credentials leaked through user error. Automating identity and access management mitigates that risk and creates stronger defenses against threat actors.
In addition to strong security measures, it’s also important that employees maintain productivity without the frustration of waiting for access approval. CyberFOX helps you accomplish both those goals with robust, intelligent tools that secure end user accounts without inconveniencing users.
Ready to see our tools in action? Contact us today to start the conversation!