Data Breach Affects 800,000 VW Electric Vehicles In Europe

A data breach has happened at VW’s software subsidiary, Cariad. Reports from Spiegel and Fenix Magazine claim that data, including the movement of 800,000 electric VW cars in Europe and owner contact details, was left exposed online.

The incident stemmed from a software glitch that made data from VW, Seat, Audi, and Škoda vehicles accessible in Amazon’s cloud storage for several months. Notably, precise location data for about 460,000 vehicles was viewable, potentially revealing insights into the drivers’ lives. The VW Group has confirmed that the issue has now been resolved and stated that sensitive data such as passwords or payment information was not compromised or affected.

Apart from the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), which alerted Cariad to the error on November 26, no one accessed the data, according to a statement carried by DPA.

They only affected data from select vehicles that were registered for online services and had internet connectivity. According to the company, this included data on charging behaviour and habits to optimize the battery and charging software.

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