Search for: All records

In the current automotive ecosystem, the trend of pairing mobile devices to connected vehicles is gaining momentum, providing a vast number of benefits such as hands-free driving and remote vehicle control. However, along with these conveniences arises the issue of data accumulation, ranging from vehicle diagnostics to personal identifiable information (PII). The problem emerges when a consumer rents a vehicle, pairs their mobile device to the infotainment system, and neglects to remove their device prior to returning the vehicle. This oversight can potentially expose vulnerabilities with the current renter’s PII for subsequent renters to exploit. Research indicates that renters often overlook the deletion process prior to returning the rental vehicle and are unaware of whose responsibility it is to perform this task. In this survey, we investigated the experiences and perceptions of a group of consumers who have previously rented vehicles. We wanted to know if the participants were aware they were responsible for deleting their mobile device from the rental vehicle before returning it, the renters’ importance and tolerance for risk if they overlooked the deletion process leaving their shared data on the infotainment system for subsequent users, and if they were aware who was responsible for deleting their shared data. Lastly, we explored if the participants supported an automated solution to perform this manual deletion process. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the significance of safeguarding PII in connected vehicles and advocate for the adoption of an automated solution to mitigate this privacy risk. 

The integration of connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) has significantly enhanced driving convenience, but it has also raised serious privacy concerns, particularly regarding the personal identifiable information (PII) stored on infotainment systems. Recent advances in connected and autonomous vehicle control, such as multi-agent system (MAS)-based hierarchical architectures and privacy-preserving strategies for mixed-autonomy platoon control, underscore the increasing complexity of privacy management within these environments. Rental cars with infotainment systems pose substantial challenges, as renters often fail to delete their data, leaving it accessible to subsequent renters. This study investigates the risks associated with PII in connected vehicles and emphasizes the necessity of automated solutions to ensure data privacy. We introduce the Vehicle Inactive Profile Remover (VIPR), an innovative automated solution designed to identify and delete PII left on infotainment systems. The efficacy of VIPR is evaluated through surveys, hands-on experiments with rental vehicles, and a controlled laboratory environment. VIPR achieved a 99.5% success rate in removing user profiles, with an average deletion time of 4.8 s or less, demonstrating its effectiveness in mitigating privacy risks. This solution highlights VIPR as a critical tool for enhancing privacy in connected vehicle environments, promoting a safer, more responsible use of connected vehicle technology in society.