JUNE 2023 AFTERMARKET 11 www.aftermarketonline.net “Every 19 seconds, a UK company suffers a successful cyber-attack. On average, they are losing a minimum of £8.500. It usually takes a company 237 days to discover they have been compromised. 94% of attacks come in by email. This is why you need a very big bouncer sitting in front of your inbox. You are nine times more likely to suffer a cyber-attack at your business than a burglary. Two thirds of all fraud in the UK is now cyber fraud. Only 2-5% of UK companies are reporting cybercrime.” He went on to explain how easy it was to gain access to the systems at an awardwinning independent garage he visited with Gavin recently. “I was inside within 30 seconds sitting in my car outside, as the Wi-FI was unprotected.” It went on from there, taking in putting malware into the system simply by putting a memory stick into the back of a PC, an act that took him three seconds. Offering up the various ways garages can protect themselves, Francis suggested: “Have several wi-fi networks, one for the office, one for the visitors, one for the cars, then infections cannot jump across.” Taking a moment to reflect, Gavin noted: “A lot of hackers have been trying to attack the big organisations, but the hackers are now looking at the automotive industry, as it is a big sector. The vultures are circling.” With the context established, Laurence Abbott returned to explain the thinking behind Autotech Connect: “This is something the industry needs now.” Clear communication is key, as he observed: “One of the problems is the language. One of the good things about Autotech Group is that we have the relationships with the industry. “The success of the automotive industry was almost solely based on mechanical competence, but it is changing beyond all recognition. This brings it into the mainstream where we can relevant to everyone. Autotech Connect is going to work with the leading hardware, software training and IT solution providers to deliver technology-driven solutions to make sure automotive businesses and workshops are ready to address the challenges of the future today.” He went onto wryly observe: “I’m starting to think the VMs are very bad people, as they are trying to squeeze everybody out. The IAAF has been very vocal about the data going back to the VMs, which adds up to about 35 terabytes a day. You can connect to the vehicle and see the light on, but not access the data. Connected vehicles are coming down the road. The average car now has 100 million lines of code. The Ford F150 has 150 million lines of code. To contrast, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has 15 million lines of code. I look at aviation as this really advanced and technical industry, but automotive is 10 times more complex. Previously a vehicle was defined by the hardwear, but a car will be like a mobile phone soon. We will move to a software model. You won’t be able to put a bigger exhaust on it, but you will be able to boost the battery to make it go faster. We want to help the industry get the foundations right.” Digital transformation Commenting on how the digital transformation can actually help businesses, specialist Vince Galvin from NEOS48 Consulting, was next up, talking about how digital tools can deliver efficiencies for automotive companies: “Technology has to become part of what we do. There are all these threats coming, and it is all about how Autotech Connect can help. It is daunting. There are people coming into the automotive industry taking about gigabytes. We are taking this and putting it into a language people can understand. We are generally an industry that thinks let someone else deal with this first. The early adopter needs to get on it now though. If you were wondering how this all might physically manifest itself, Derrick Sawyer, Regional Director Northern Europe at RealWear Inc was on hand with some nifty headsets to show the benefits of assisted reality: “We are taking this and using it for virtual training. The automotive sector has been using it for guided repair, and they then wanted to use it for everything all the time. Remote assessment, remote audits, real-time approval. It starts to remove the cost of delay from the sector. 347 BMW dealers in the U.S used it and got a 70% -75% faster fix rate. Volkswagen started with commercial vehicles, and tested on five locations, and dialled their experts in for instant dial-in-andfix. What they saw was a 93% repair efficiency improvement. This was then rolled out to 700 car dealers.” Summing up for the day, Gavin concluded: “The digital transformation knocking at the door is a massive opportunity, but how do we filter this down? At Autotech Group we serve both sides of the industry. We are asking how can we help you to set up for the next 20-30 years. It is about giving access to the experts and getting the work done. We don’t pretend to be the experts, but we know the people who are.” www.aftermarketonline.co.uk The Garage Equipment Association e Upholders of Industry standards since 1945 ard ! reditation c for hisac Ask your engineer f cr IS Y . Y ent A For peace of mind always use a Garage Equipm Association member. GEA accredited engineers work to an industry code of conduct Your assurance their skills and knowledge have been independently assessed. YOUR EQUIPMENT ENGINEER GEA ACCREDITED? Th .c www.gea co.uk xp Dat GEA ACCREDITED ENGINEER Name Company Discipline E te ID Number XX123456 XX123456 XX123456 XX123456 XX123456
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