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> Any source on this? I have an engineer friend who works on the 2/3G modems for a German automotive brand. He told me anecdotally many years ago. And the publ
by devy 8y ago
> Any source on this?
I have an engineer friend who works on the 2/3G modems for a German automotive brand. He told me anecdotally many years ago. And the public generally learned from the security breaches and vulnerability exposures. Here is one:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/security-flaws-found-in-2g-modems-used-by-bmw-ford-infiniti-and-nissan-cars/ https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/security-flaw...
As you can see in the article above, by "most" I meant pretty much everybody. Just like gorilla glass are standard for smartphones, car connectivity is a standard feature on modern cars, and it doesn't cost much to the manufacturers to add that on - given the upstream auto suppliers producing these TCUs (telematics control unit) in a massive scale, which is also why all these car brands were affected (sourced from the same supplier.) And they can up-sell connectivity based subscription features with higher profit margin.
- londons_explore 8y agoSurely the manufacturer still has to pay for cell service for that modem. That's typically billed on a per GB and per line basis. Would the manufacturer want to be paying a few dollars per car per month just in the hope the user might upgrade to OnStar later?
- devy 8y agoIt's usually a wholesale deal like what those MVNO are getting for the initial period of a new car and then car owners pay for the full service price later. The Big three wireless carriers want those IoT contacts as much as the automotive manufacturers, since those are also counted as subscribers and generating recurring revenues.