Data thieves alert 

An independent motor engineer who helps establish the cause of accidents has claimed that some major investigation companies routinely download the data stored by a vehicle without the owner’s agreement.

Despite a car’s ECU being classed as a ‘terminal unit’, and so requiring the owner’s permission to access the data within, many vehicle assessors working for insurers download the data anyway, with insurers using such data to reject claims unfairly.

Up to 5000 cars a week could be having their data downloaded in bodyshops

Depending on the type of download, in addition to the electronic data recording (EDR) that insurers are seeking and which contains data relating to aspects of the car’s performance, including ABS activation, steering angle and throttle position, personal data is also captured. It is estimated that up to 5000 cars a week could be having their data downloaded in bodyshops alone. Which amounts to a lot of phone numbers and other personal information that goes who knows where?

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