There has long been a fear that vehicle connectivity could result in a wide-scale cyber attack on a fleet of cars, causing harm to human life and financial damage to the companies involved. The infamous hack on a 2014 Jeep Cherokee, reported by Wired in 2015, became a landmark moment for the industry, as researchers showed just how easy that could be.

The automaker involved, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), issued a voluntary recall of 1.4 million vehicles in the US—a staggering concession that its Uconnect infotainment system, supplied by Harman International, was at risk of an attack. The story made the news not only in automotive circles, but also mainstream media. In…