According to a report by German publication Spiegel Netzwelt, a Volkswagen software subsidiary called Cariad experienced a massive data leak that left 800,000 EV owners exposed. The leak left personal information online for months, including movement data and contact information.
This included precise location data of 460,000 vehicles made by VW, Seat and Audi. According to reports, this information was accessible via the Amazon cloud storage platform. There is a silver lining here.
Cariad says that despite it being available, no bad guys accessed the exposed data. The well-intentioned hacking association Chaos Computer Club (CCC) noticed the leak on November 26 and brought it to the company’s attention.
VW said in a statement reviewed by German press agency DPA that the error has since been fixed, so that the information is no longer accessible. Additionally, the company noted that the leak was only related to location and contact information, as passwords and payment data were not affected.
It added that only select vehicles registered to online services were initially at risk, adding that “the data was accessed in a very complex, multi-step process.”
According to a report by German publication Spiegel Netzwelt, a Volkswagen software subsidiary called Cariad experienced a massive data leak that left 800,000 EV owners exposed. The leak left personal information online for months, including movement data and contact information.
This included precise location data of 460,000 vehicles made by VW, Seat, and Audi. According to reports, the information was accessible through the Amazon cloud storage platform. There’s a silver lining here.
Cariad says that despite it being available, no bad guys accessed the exposed data. The well-intentioned hacking association Chaos Computer Club (CCC) noticed the leak on November 26 and brought it to the company’s attention. In a statement reviewed by German press agency DPA, VW said the error has since been fixed, so that the information is no longer accessible.
Furthermore, the company pointed out that the leak only concerned location and contact information, as passwords and payment data were not affected. It further said that only select vehicles registered to online services were initially at risk, adding that “the data was accessed in a very complex, multi-step process.”