Automotive Telematics

Automotive telematics may be defined as the information-intensive applications that are being enabled by a combination of telecommunications and computing technology. The automobile is, in effect, a computing platform to which services may be delivered. The services being delivered today on a regular basis and projected for the near future include navigation information, emergency roadside assistance, location-based services, delivery of digital information such as e-mail, entertainment, e-commerce, diagnostics and prognostics, and pay-for-use rental and insurance services. These applications are enabled by the collection and use of data which may include information on the location of a vehicle as a function of time, emergency situations including accidents and personal health emergencies, diagnostic data on the many systems within the vehicle, services and entertainment that are selected by the vehicle occupants, the demographics of the driver and passengers, and the behavior of the vehicle driver.

Privacy, protection of personal information, is important to consumers. Consumers want services to be delivered to their vehicles. However, if potential automotive telematics users share the concerns of the Web users, then a large segment of the potential telematics market, may be lost. There is a potential for misuse of collected data. End users or consumers may substitute false data or hack into in-vehicle applications. Telematics service providers and application providers may sell consumers’ data to third parties without the permission of the consumers. Although, there are no current US regulations in place to “safeguard” the information collected, certain existing and pending European regulations, as well as pending US statutes may soon impose strict controls on the collection, usage, and storage of information about individuals. In general, telematics applications will be successful if providers know that the data that they receive is accurate and if end users know that their privacy is assured.

Privacy Protection Framework

The primary goal of this project is to develop an end-to-end privacy protection framework that will enable emerging automotive telematics solutions, and unlock the potential of automotive telematics in general. This framework will comprise a reference design, physical platform recommendations, and a fundamental system of software components designed to address the requirements of these highly security and privacy sensitive automotive telematics solutions.

As an end-to-end framework, components will be applicable to the in-vehicle clients as well as to service and solution provider platforms. Users must know that the client is handling sensitive information in accordance with their preferences, and solution providers must know that their proprietary information (e.g., the application and its execution) is protected and that the integrity of the related data is unquestionable.

Related Links

IBM Privacy Institute

IBM Security Research

IBM Global Automotive

IBM Pervasive Computing Telematics

The Platform for Privacy Preferences 1.0 (P3P1.0) Specification