What cyberthreats await the automotive industry in 2026?

Experts from Kaspersky Lab tackled this question in their predictive research, which covers not only vehicles themselves but also the systems they interact with. Here's a brief outlook for the year:

📌 Financially motivated attacks on the automotive sector will remain a trend. Consequences for manufacturers may include production shutdowns and theft of confidential data. 📌 Taxi, carsharing, and logistics services are in the crosshairs. Threat actors may target customer data, remotely immobilize rental vehicles, or disrupt logistics operations to steal and resell cargo. 📌 Cloud‑connected fueling stations are a new target. Hackers may attack them to steal fuel or harvest customers' personal data. 📌 Automated road infrastructure (traffic safety cameras, customs control systems, etc.) may be attacked for political reasons or financial gain. 📌 Exploiting vulnerabilities to steal cars will continue. Entry points may include the CAN bus, OBD and Ethernet ports, NFC module, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, and LTE modems.

The report also mentions emerging threats — for example, interference with autonomous vehicles via attacks on V2X systems that enable data exchange between the car and its environment.

Today, most new vehicles are connected to mobile networks, increasing the risk of remote attacks. Cyber‑resilience must therefore be built in from the design and development stages of automotive components. It's equally important to protect not only the vehicle itself but also its surrounding digital ecosystem, since attacks on that environment can have broader consequences than direct interference with the vehicle.

💬 Discuss