Consumer Watchdog

Hacked Cars Could Lead to Thousands of Casualties, Kill Switch Needed

By Daniel Patrascu, AUTO EVOLUTION

August 2, 2019

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/hacked-cars-could-lead-to-thousands-…

ike any system that is controlled at least in part by a computer, cars can be hacked. This is a reality experts have been talking about for nearly a decade, despite that until now we're yet to see a coordinated attack against smart cars.

Internet-Linked Cars Vulnerable To Hackers, Consumer Group Says

By Staff Reporters, KTRK ABC TV-13, Houston, TX

August 1, 2019

https://abc13.com/automotive/internet-linked-cars-vulnerable-to-hackers…

A new report by more than a dozen whistleblowers suggests that internet-connected cars are a large national security threat.

Consumer Watchdog issued the report titled "Kill Switch: Why connected cars can be killing machines and how to turn them off."

Report Warns Of Possible Mass Casualties From Automotive Cyberattacks

By Eric D. Lawrence, DETROIT FREE PRESS

July 31, 2019

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2019/07/31/auto-cyberattacks-mas…

Warnings about connected vehicle vulnerabilities have been a steady drumbeat for years. Now a consumer-advocacy group is putting it in starker terms, suggesting a mass cyberattack against such vehicles could lead to Sept. 11-level casualties.

Connected Cars Can Be Hacked Need Kill Switch & Need Privacy

By Bryan Jonston, AUTO CONNECTED CAR NEWS

July 31, 2019

https://www.autoconnectedcar.com/2019/07/connected-car-can-be-hacked-ne…

The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog has issued a report, with the help of car industry technologists, that finds all the top 2020 cars have Internet connections to safety critical systems that leave them vulnerable to fleet wide hacks.

Hackers Controlling Your Ride? New Report Warns Dangers of Internet-Connected Cars

Our insider said most new 2020 model cars feature "info-tainment" systems with open internet connections that link with a car's computer technology; it contains all a hacker needs to crash a car you're driving

By Randy Mac, KNBC TV-4 Los Angeles, CA

July 31, 2019

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/cyber-security-risks-new-c…

California Insurance Commissioner Met With CEO Who Has Cases Pending Before His Department

By Hannah Wiley, SACRAMENTO BEE

July 29, 2019

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article23…

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, under fire for accepting campaign contributions from insurance executives and their spouses, has yet to release his office calendars in response to public requests.

Consumer Groups Push For Probe Into Tesla’s Autopilot Marketing

The groups say the name ‘Autopilot’ creates confusion among consumers

By Sarah D. Young, CONSUMER AFFAIRS

July 29, 2019

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/consumer-groups-push-for-probe-int…

The Center for Auto Safety and Consumer Watchdog have once again come together to lobby for a federal investigation into how Tesla markets its Autopilot driver-assistance system. 

Lara Tells Insurers He's 'Receptive' To Their Ideas, Including Vehicle Data Use

By Carla Marinucci and Jeremy B. White, POLITICO

July 29, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO — Embattled state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara last week assured a convention of insurance executives that he would “start engaging the industry like never before” on issues that include giving insurers more access to drivers’ vehicle data — an effort long opposed by consumer advocates as a privacy invasion.

Overbilled DWP Customers Due Millions More In Refunds In Revisited Settlement, Attorneys Say

By Carlos Granda, KABC TV-7 Los Angeles, CA

July 27, 2019

Watch the video of this news segment here: https://abc7.com/society/dwp-customers-due-millions-more-in-refunds-att…]

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- There could be an additional $50 million in refunds for customers who were overbilled by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power back in 2013, attorneys say.

Safety Groups Want FTC, State Probes Of Tesla’s Autopilot system–And Its Marketing Efforts

By Paul A. Eisenstein, CNBC

July 26, 2019

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/26/safety-groups-want-ftc-state-probes-of-…

Two consumer safety groups are calling for federal and state investigations of Tesla’s semi-autonomous technology in the wake of several fatal crashes linked to the system earlier this year.

Advocacy Groups Attack Tesla’s Use of Autopilot — Again

Tesla maintains nothing wrong with the system

By Michael Strong, THE DETROIT BUREAU

July 26, 2019

https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2019/07/advocacy-groups-attack-teslas-…

Two of the most vocal critics of Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot feature renewed their calls for federal and state investigations of the EV maker, claiming the company’is engaging in “dangerously misleading and deceptive practices.”

FBI Raids, DWP Scandal Pose A Political Threat To L.A.'s Ambitious City Attorney

By Dakota Smith, LOS ANGELES TIMES

July 25, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-city-attorney-feuer-mayor-…

Four years ago, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer cast himself as a champion for ratepayers socked by wildly inflated bills after the Department of Water and Power rolled out a disastrous new billing system.

At L.A. City Hall, Incompetence And Corruption Are Close Cousins

By Steve Lopez, Columnist, LOS ANGELES TIMES

July 24, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-07-23/dwp-investigation-c…

The timing is perfect, isn’t it?

Here come the most searing, sweaty, sun-blasted days of the year, when the temperature and utility bills rise in unison. And right on cue, everyone’s favorite public agency in Los Angeles has stormed back into the news.

Juiced - PG&E poured $2 million into the Rebuild Northbay Foundation as the utility ramped up its political machine after 2017 wildfires

By Will Carruthers, THE NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN

July 24, 2019

https://www.bohemian.com/northbay/juiced/Content?oid=9026523

As summer brought blue skies to the North Bay, a recent editorial in Santa Rosa's Press Democrat was uncharacteristically out of sync with the editorial stances of California's two largest newspapers.

Editorial: A Cloud Of Suspicion Hangs Over State Insurance Commissioner. Can He Clear The Air?

By The SACRAMENTO BEE Editorial Board

July 23, 2019

https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article232988522.html

With the appearance of corruption threatening to undermine his legitimacy as California insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara would do well to review the classic steps of scandal management:

Step one: Admit the error.

Step two: Come clean.

Step three: Make a plan to do better, then follow through.

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