Bad connection Whistleblower finds unencrypted location data for 800,000 VW EVs Der Spiegel and Chaos Computer Club were able to tie data to car owners and their trips. Eric Bangeman Dec 30, 2024 10:33 am | 28 In 2024 VW will have two new EVs to sell alongside the ID.4 crossover. Credit: Volkswagen In 2024 VW will have two new EVs to sell alongside the ID.4 crossover. Credit: Volkswagen Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreConnected cars are greatat least until some company leaves unencrypted location data on the Internet for anyone to find. That's what happened with over 800,000 EVs manufactured by the Volkswagen Group, after Cariad, an automative software company that handles much of the development tasks for VW, left several terabytes of data unprotected on Amazon's cloud.According to Motor1, a whistleblower gave German publication Der Spiegel and hacking collective Chaos Computer Club a heads-up about the misconfiguration. Der Spiegel and CCC then spent some time sifting through the data, with which allowed them to tie individual cars to their owners."The security hole allowed the publication to track the location of two German politicians with alarming precision, with the data placing a member of the German Defense Committee at his fathers retirement home and at the countrys military barracks," wrote Motor1.Cariad has since patched the vulnerability, which had revealed data about the usage of Skodas, Audis, and Seats, as well as what Motor1 calls "incredibly detailed data" for VW ID.3 and ID.4 owners. The data set also included pinpoint location data for 460,000 of the vehicles, which Der Spiegel said could be used to paint a picture of their owners' lives and daily activities.Cariad ascribed the vulnerability to a "misconfiguration," according to Der Spiegel, and said there is no indication that anyone aside from the publication and CCC accessed the unprotected data.Eric BangemanManaging EditorEric BangemanManaging Editor Eric Bangeman is the Managing Editor of Ars Technica. In addition to overseeing the daily operations at Ars, Eric also manages story development for the Policy and Automotive sections. He lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where he enjoys cycling, playing the bass, and refereeing rugby. 28 Comments