31 Mar Driver’s Ed: Privacy Lawyer Reveals Automakers Are Snooping On You
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
–Sausalito, Calif. – Mar. 31, 2025
According to ZDNet, 95 percent of cars will be connected to the Internet by 2030.
Lena Ghamrawi, Senior Privacy Counsel and Data Protection Officer at Quora, told Cybercrime Magazine that auto manufacturers gather consumers’ precise geolocation and behavioral data without drivers’ consent.
The issue goes deeper.
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission alleged that General Motors and OnStar, a roadside assistance service, used a misleading enrollment process to trick drivers into signing up for services that collected location and driving data and subsequently sold it to third parties. This information was then sold to consumer reporting agencies and insurance companies in order to guide their costs.
Ghamwrawi, a privacy lawyer, suggested “vehicle and safety data” is what users might expect a car manufacturer to collect, but “climate control, where you position your seat, how much weight is on your seat. Those are things that could be potentially sensitive.”
The problem might be with education.
Salesforce reported that over two-thirds of drivers are unfamiliar with the concept of connected cars. Meanwhile, one-third of drivers are comfortable with data on seat belt use, driving activity, location, and route history being collected – even though the majority are not okay with voice recordings being compiled.
Ghamrawi joined host Taylor Fox to talk about all things privacy, including stalkerware apps, getting into the cybersecurity field, and how to protect your data.
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