Upstream's 2025 Automotive & Smart
Mobility Cybersecurity Report reveals that 60% of cyber incidents
could affect thousands to millions of connected vehicles, with
massive-scale attacks more than tripling; the report emphasizes
that current regulatory requirements are insufficient to address
expanding cyber risks.
ANN
ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 11,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Upstream Security, the leading
provider of cloud-based cybersecurity and data management platform
purpose-built for automotive, smart mobility, and IoT ecosystem,
today released the 2025 Automotive & Smart Mobility
Cybersecurity Report. The annual report, returning for its
seventh year, highlights that despite the increased regulatory
attention, the number, scale, and severity of cyber attacks
continues to grow, showing a false sense of security and
resilience. Automakers and mobility stakeholders have to go beyond
regulations to address the threats causing serious implications for
safety, operational availability and data privacy.
The report revealed that in 2024, 60% of cybersecurity incidents
in the automotive and smart mobility sectors affected thousands to
millions of mobility assets, including vehicles, EV charging
stations, smart mobility apps, and connected devices. Notably,
massive-scale incidents—each impacting millions of vehicles—more
than tripled, rising from 5% in 2023 to 19% in 2024. This sharp
increase highlights the urgent need for organizations to prioritize
resilience by extending their cybersecurity efforts beyond
regulatory compliance.
The rise of software-defined and autonomous vehicles has
introduced new vulnerabilities, leading to a widening cybersecurity
gap. Additionally, critical infrastructure in smart mobility
devices, like EV chargers and fleet management systems, has
expanded the attack surface and magnified the stakes.
Mobility-specific ransomware attacks surged in 2024 causing
unprecedented disruptions with 108 reported ransom attacks and 214
data breaches. One of the most impactful incidents was a ransomware
attack in June on a leading US-based software provider used by
15,000 automotive dealerships which resulted in halted operations
for nearly three weeks, estimating losses at $1.02 billion.
"The cybersecurity landscape across the Automotive and Smart
Mobility ecosystem is poised to become more complex than ever,"
said Yoav Levy, CEO and co-founder
of Upstream. "Cyber threats are evolving faster than the industry
is prepared to handle, outpacing regulation-driven measures. Threat
actors have already shifted toward large-scale, sophisticated and
AI-powered attack methods, targeting not only vehicles but also
interconnected systems such as EV charging infrastructure,
API-driven apps, and smart mobility IoT devices. This growing
attack surface demands a transformative and proactive approach to
cybersecurity."
Cyberattacks in 2024 became more sophisticated and frequent,
targeting vehicles and backend systems, as well as smart mobility
platforms, devices, and applications. 65% of publicly reported
cyber incidents were carried out by black hat actors with malicious
intent. 92% of attacks were executed remotely, supporting the surge
in scale and impact, of which 85% were long-range and did not
require any physical proximity to the targeted asset. The ecosystem
experienced a significant surge in telematics and application
server attacks in 2024— 43% of incidents in 2023 rising to 66% in
2024.
In addition to monitoring publicly reported cyber incidents,
Upstream's AutoThreat® team monitors the deep and dark web for
threat actors targeting connected vehicles, mobility applications
and devices. When zooming in on deep and dark web activities
carried out by black hat hackers, 70% activities had the potential
to impact thousands to millions of mobility assets and over 76%
targeted multiple stakeholders and had a global reach.
Additional key findings in the report include:
- 2024 saw 409 new incidents (up from 295 in 2023), contributing
to a total of 1,877 documented cases since 2010.
- The dramatic rise in incidents is largely attributed to a sharp
escalation in ransomware attacks targeting the mobility
sector.
- Data and privacy-related incidents accounted for 60% of 2024
incidents, up 20% from 2023.
- The percentage of incidents involving car system manipulation
and control of vehicle systems increased dramatically in 2024,
accounting for over 35% of incidents.
The report further delves into a range of topics including
China's strategic automotive
investments and impact on the cyber landscape, EV charging
infrastructure risks, 2024's attack vectors and today's regulatory
reality. Download the full 2025 Upstream Global Automotive
& Smart Mobility Cybersecurity Report here.
About Upstream Security
Upstream delivers a cloud-based, AI-powered data management
platform purpose-built for connected vehicles, smart mobility, and
IoT ecosystem. The Upstream Platform transforms fragmented,
distributed mobility data into centralized, structured, and
contextualized data lakes, unlocking its full potential. By
leveraging this data, Upstream empowers customers with advanced,
AI-driven applications across various use cases, including
proactive vehicle quality management, cybersecurity detection and
response (XDR), fraud prevention, observability, usage-based
insurance, and more.
Upstream Media Contact
Mushkie Meyer
Mushkie@headline.media
US: +1 914 336 4035
UK: +44 203 769 4034
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