- Daimler presents its 2013 Sustainability Report
- Data protection and information security have the highest priority
Having access to networked information anywhere and at any time has become an indispensable part of daily life. This also applies to the time we spend in the car. The intelligently networked vehicle gives the customer many possibilities for comfortable and safe travel. At the same time it is important to ensure the greatest possible security for customers and their data. Accordingly Daimler accompanies new developments relating to the networked vehicle with corresponding measures and the highest standards for data protection and information security.
With the presentation of the 2013 Sustainability Report, the serious approach taken to data protection and information security by the Stuttgart-based vehicle manufacturer is demonstrated by Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Integrity and Legal Affairs, and Prof. Thomas Weber, member of the Daimler Board of Management, responsible for Group Research and Development Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Sustainability is firmly enshrined as a basic principle in the corporate strategy of Daimler. In order to reconcile economic, ecological and social objectives, Daimler AG therefore takes its lead from the ten principles of the “UN Global Compact” of the United Nations.
On the road to sustainable mobility, Daimler attaches particular importance to environmental protection and safety. The aim with all products is therefore to combine the greatest possible customer benefit with the highest standards of security and data protection.
Safety on the road and in the network
All in all the company puts its confidence in numerous data protection measures to ensure the highest level of security for both vehicle and customer. Transparency for the customer is another important factor in this: what data are registered and what happens to these data? For this reason, customers decide for themselves which services they actually wish to use, and what data they wish to disclose.
This is made possible by the Daimler Vehicle Backend, a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection: this regulates and monitors the connections to all internet services. In the process it carries out functions such as authorisation and authentification; it also provides data protection and prevents driver distraction by driver-compatible adaptation of the information available from the internet.
“Safety is one of the brand values of Mercedes-Benz, and therefore also plays a key role in the development and operation of our infotainment systems,” says Prof. Thomas Weber.
“Data protection and information security are of central importance to Daimler, and this also applies to the increasing networking of vehicles. For us it is a matter of course that the customer always has full transparency and self-determination over the data – either by contract, consent or the touch of a button,” says Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Integrity and Legal Affairs.
Responsible use of data has been strictly regulated by Daimler’s Corporate Policies on Data Protection since 2009. These meet the requirements of the European data protection guideline, and ensure compliance with national and international data protection legislation. The unit Corporate Data Protection coordinates data protection at Daimler on a worldwide basis, and is supported by over 120 local data protection coordinators.
To protect the systems against external attacks, the Group also employs specialists who are highly conversant with the relevant automobile and IT security aspects with respect to encoding, domain segregation and interfaces between security-related functions. Conceivable attack scenarios are simulated regularly, and so-called penetration tests are carried out.
