Now-fixed web bugs allowed hackers to remotely unlock and start any of millions of Subarus. More disturbingly, they could also access at least a year of cars’ location histories—and Subaru employees still can.
This is why so many cars have been moving towards a centralized control center, instead of individual knobs and buttons. For starters, plugging in a touchscreen is a lot faster and easier (and thus cheaper to mass produce) when compared to wiring harnesses for knobs and buttons. But the biggest reason is to make it virtually impossible to disable specific tracking/data collection features without totally destroying your car’s functionality. In many cars, if you disable the tracking stuff, you also disable the AC, radio, cruise control, etc… Because it’s all built into that single hub, and you can’t selectively disable certain parts without killing the whole thing.
This is why so many cars have been moving towards a centralized control center, instead of individual knobs and buttons. For starters, plugging in a touchscreen is a lot faster and easier (and thus cheaper to mass produce) when compared to wiring harnesses for knobs and buttons. But the biggest reason is to make it virtually impossible to disable specific tracking/data collection features without totally destroying your car’s functionality. In many cars, if you disable the tracking stuff, you also disable the AC, radio, cruise control, etc… Because it’s all built into that single hub, and you can’t selectively disable certain parts without killing the whole thing.