Counting on government to protect cars from hackers isn’t our best option

[Commentary] Recently, two hackers wirelessly took over a Jeep Cherokee, including at one point on a Missouri highway. A couple of senators introduced legislation within hours of the story breaking. The Jeep experiment demonstrates how premature government involvement is likely to interfere with potential industry solutions. Software security teams in industry are better off focusing on the latest threats and security best practices, rather than compliance with bureaucratic measures handed down from Washington. We must keep in mind that the researchers behaved according to “white hat” rules, by giving Chrysler early access to data and time to develop a patch. Indeed, the automaker has already issued a security patch to fix a few of the issues, so the system worked as intended.

Before we legislate new restrictions on innovation and technology, let’s take a moment to survey how the industry is best positioned to address potential problems — especially those based on some obscure, theoretical harm. Historically, automakers have a track record of advancing safety and security in cars, and there’s no reason to expect them to backpedal when it comes to the critical and forward-looking area of cybersecurity.

[Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)]