News, 19 November 2025
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group has taken a major step to strengthen its digital defenses as vehicles become ever more connected. The company has established the first group-wide cyber-threat response team, led by Yang Ki‑chang, which will oversee risk monitoring, vulnerability assessments and incident responses across all Hyundai affiliates.
The initiative also includes a sharp uptick in investment: Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Corporation together will spend approximately 62.14 billion won (about US $42 million) this year on information protection—a nearly 47 % increase year-on-year and a 169 % rise since 2022. The timing comes amid a wave of high-profile hacks in Korea’s telecom and financial sectors, underscoring the urgency for automakers to defend a new frontier—software-defined vehicles, OTA updates and networked cockpits.
With cars increasingly behaving like mobile data centres on wheels, Hyundai is shifting from a fragmented security model where each unit handled its own threats, toward a centralised “control tower” approach. The goal is to detect malicious intrusions early, reduce risk of unauthorized access or remote control of vehicle systems, and protect sensitive driver and fleet data at scale. This move puts cybersecurity at the heart of Hyundai’s transition into the connected-mobility and autonomous era.
Compiled using AI
