U.S. Transportation Department awards $94 million for innovative mobility projects

<p>The $1 trillion November 2021 infrastructure law dedicates $500 million over five years for "Smart" mobility projects.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report...y-projects

LaFontaine Automotive Group expands in metro Detroit

<p>LaFontaine Automotive Group has purchased a Chevrolet store in metro Detroit, marking its second dealership acquisition of the year.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/dealers/lafonta...dealership

John Dion named Ford chief transformation officer

<p>The company has added former ESAB Corp. executive John Dion to its leadership team as it looks to cut costs, overcome quality woes and improve its operational execution.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/executives/john...on-officer

As U.S. CPO sales fall to 8-year low, some brands make older cars eligible

<p>Last year, sales of certified vehicles fell 9.4 percent to 2.49 million, according to figures from the Automotive News Research & Data Center. It was the lowest annual volume since 2014, when 2.34 million certified sales were recorded.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/retail/some-aut...sales-2022

NHTSA upgrades Stellantis probe involving Bosch fuel pump failures

<p>In addition to the Ram heavy-duty trucks, the safety probe now covers Bosch's C4 fuel pumps and certain vehicles from Jeep and BMW.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/automakers-supp...ivic-probe

Hireology adds ChatGPT AI to auto retailing HR technology platform

<p>The company is beta testing the new technology and hopes it will help auto retailers speed their hiring process.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/dealers/chatgpt...h-platform

LinkedIn Live talk Thursday, 1:30 p.m.: 40 Under 40

<p>What makes a 40 Under 40 honoree? Hard work, innovation, imagination? And what would such an honor mean for your auto retail career? Find out in this LinkedIn Live chat.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/40-under-40-ret...onor-means

Tesla rises above junk-rated world following an upgrade from Moody’s

<p>Moody’s Investors Service on Monday became the second credit ratings firm to endow Tesla with investment-grade status, upgrading the Austin-based firm’s credit score by one notch to Baa3. </p>

https://www.autonews.com/automakers-supp...ys-upgrade

Ferrari cyberattack exposes customer data

<p>Italian luxury sports car maker <a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/ferrari-news" target="_blank">Ferrari</a> was hit with a ransomware attack that exposed customers' personal information.</p>

<p>It's not clear when Ferrari's Italian subsidiary was contacted by a hacker or group with a ransom demand related to the exposure of customer information nor did Ferrari disclose the ransom amount.</p>

<p>Ferrari said it is investigating the breach with an unnamed "leading global third-party cybersecurity firm" and has informed law enforcement authorities.</p>

<p>Ferrari's policy is not to pay ransom demands to hackers because the company thinks it will perpetuate cyberattacks.</p>

<p>While many companies will pay white hat hackers to find vulnerabilities, the auto industry<a href="https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/automakers-risk-cyberattacks-paying-white-hat-hackers-less" target="_blank"> pays among the least </a>for discovering potential breaches, according to research by San Francisco's HackerOne. It operates bug bounty programs for <a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/bmw-news" target="_blank">BMW</a>,<a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/ford" target="_blank"> Ford</a>, <a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/rivian" target="_blank">Rivian</a> and <a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/toyota" target="_blank">Toyota</a>.</p>

<p>"Instead, we believed the best course of action was to inform our clients and thus we have notified our customers of the potential data exposure and the nature of the incident," Ferrari said in a statement. "We can also confirm the breach has had no impact on the operational functions of our company."</p>

<p>Ferrari said it is working with third parties to reinforce the company's information technology systems.</p>

<p>It's not clear if Ferrari encrypted their customers' data.</p>

<p>"While most organizations view customer data as an asset when it's stored in an unencrypted fashion, it's actually a liability," said Dror Liwer, co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity company Coro.</p>

<p>Organizations facing extortion-related data leaks possibly face direct financial damages from lawsuits, fines, and loss of revenue from lawsuits and regulatory actions, Liwer said.</p>

<p>The number of publicly reported automotive cyberattacks is on the rise. In 2022, Israeli cybersecurity firm <a href="https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/car-cybersecurity-firm-expects-consumers-emerge-hackers" target="_blank">Upstream counted</a> 268 publicly reported automotive cyberattacks, up from 245 incidents publicly reported in 2021.</p>

<p>Ferrari plans to make <a href="https://www.autonews.com/future-product/ferrari-future-product-performance-bev" target="_blank">80 percent of its cars </a>battery electric powered by 2030. These EV offerings are likely to become even more software dependent and Internet connected in the coming years, possibly providing more <a href="https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/car-cybersecurity-firm-expects-consumers-emerge-hackers" target="_blank">avenues for cyberattacks. </a></p>

<p>Companies have a few avenues to deter ransomware attacks, said Javvad Malik, an executive at KnowBe4, a Clearwater, Fla., cybersecurity consultancy and training company.</p>

<p>"When it comes to ransomware, most attacks are successful through phishing, taking advantage of poor credentials or by exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities," Malik said. "So at a bare minimum, organizations should focus on these avenues of attack."</p>

https://www.autonews.com/automakers-supp...dom-demand

Mexico makes lots of electric cars, but few Mexicans drive them

<p><span>Mexico has lofty ambitions to boost EV ownership as Tesla gears up to develop its factory in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon.</span></p>

https://www.autonews.com/global-markets/...t-mexicans