Harman CEO: Cyber security is our top priority

It’s no secret that self-driving cars are one of the hottest trends in tech. But as companies make headway in making autonomous cars a reality, many consumers are asking this question: Are internet-connected, self-driving cars secure from hackers?

Harman (HAR), which equips more than 25 million automobiles on the road today with its audio and connected-car systems, is tackling security in autonomous vehicles head on. CEO Dinesh Paliwal told Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith in the video above that Harman is concentrating on four Cs: cloud, collaboration, customization and cyber security, with the last being the “most important.”

“You cannot have any connected environment—home or car—without cyber security,” said Paliwal. “The US as a country is seeing that this is not something we can totally conquer, but you need to be prepared and frankly the automotive industry is just not there yet. Thank God, [Harman] has been doubling down on cyber security.”

Paliwal is referring to recent strategic acquisitions Harman has made in order to beef up its cyber security framework. Last year, Harman acquired TowerSec, a global automotive cyber security company focused on network protection for connected vehicles, and in 2015 it bought Red Bend Software, a leading provider of software management technology for connected devices.

This year, eyes were on Harman as the company demonstrated the first-ever live-car hack at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, showcasing how its new cyber security software can fight hackers. Why? It’s simple. Cyber security is a huge concern among consumers, and failing to prevent a hack could be devastating to an automaker’s reputation and business. According to the 2016 KPMG Consumer Loss Barometer study, 82% of consumers said they would be wary or never buy from an automaker if it had been hacked.

And time is of the essence for automakers and tech companies like Harman collaborating with auto giants to safely bring autonomous driving to the masses. Right now, there are only 60 million connected cars on the road, but by 2020, Harman’s Paliwal said he expects 300 million cars will be connected.

“The implementation of cyber security is nowhere near where it should be in terms of momentum. This is something we all need to talk about—and not wait for a disaster to happen.”