Along with the rise of self-driving cars, concerns over the security of vehicle software systems seem to be at the forefront of automakers' interests. Accordingly, General Motors is asking that hackers and owners alike report any vulnerabilities they might discover in the company's cars.
This call for any and all hacking information comes on the heels of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) initiating a recall after one of its cars was hacked on the highway, resulting in a full takeover of the car's powertrain.
"If a researcher has facts related to any vulnerability in one of our products or services," a GM representative told Mashable, "we want them to report those to us."
Should customers, hackers and "researchers" discover a weak point, they can send an email directly to the automaker at cybersecurity@gm.com.
With this move, GM seems keen to get out in front of any issues that might arise before they become public safety liabilities.
White hat hackers that work to expose vulnerabilities recently discovered just how hard it is to hack a Tesla. When they did successfully crack the car's software, however, they alerted the upstart automaker before going public with the information. Likely, GM is hoping for similar preferential treatment.
Certainly, the FCA hack threat was a dangerous one, as a disabled car in the road could be catastrophic. However, when self-driving cars hit the public roads, the threat of hacking will surely become of even greater concern — after all, they could become veritable automotive drones for hackers.
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