Fleet management software must reflect increased data security for autonomous vehicles, says Chevin

Fleet management software will need to adapt to support the increasing data security requirements of connected and autonomous cars and vans, says Chevin.

Managing director Ashley Sowerby says that the first factor a business needs to consider when managing their fleet information is whether their software system is adequately secure.

He explained: “Official accreditations, such as ISO 27100 formally acknowledge that providers are committed to data protection issues, and software companies should also be striving to achieve these accreditations if they don’t already have them in place.

“Hierarchical user permissions within a system are also essential in order to control who has access to certain levels of data. Drivers, for example, will not need access to the same level of intelligence as fleet managers, and authorisation should depend on job role versus data sensitivity.”

Data analysis and security is paramount in the face of an autonomous future and, due to the complexity of the matter, Sowerby says this is something that businesses and software providers alike should be considering now.

He continued: “Chevin currently holds operational data on more than 1,000,000 vehicles that are managed via its FleetWave software, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our database has the appropriate levels of protection and monitoring in place to prevent unauthorised access.

“The intelligence that we hold on behalf of our clients has a commercial value, and information requests from external parties is not unheard of – we of course refuse such requests, but there’s certainly an appetite for these details.

“As technology evolves even further, it’s vital that software providers develop a preventative means of deterring hackers – whether searching for vital competitive vehicle data, attempting car theft or overriding technology to inflict harm – instead of finding a later cure for any direct attacks. Our software is regularly put through penetration testing, as data security is essential for enterprise-level businesses.

“It is our belief that software providers will benefit from addressing these future issues now, in order to save precious time, money and – most importantly – potentially devastating risk.”