September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 AFTERMARKET 15 www.aftermarketonline.net SAVE THE DATE Top Technician and Top Garage Awards Evening Saturday 20 June 2020 | Jurys Inn, Milton Keynes For sponsorship opportunities available please contact Claire Hodder for more information at claire@aftermarket.co.uk or call 01732 370340 www.toptechnicianonline.co.uk FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK T connected devices, without even starting to consider the wider communications providers that connects your workshop to the wider world. Have a cookie This leads me onto an increasing communications requirement which has become a fundamental part of our day-to-day lives, from both the personal and business aspects – the internet. If there is ever a perfect example of living in a connected world, this is it. However, if you think about the wide-ranging possibilities that the internet supports, do you ever stop to think about the technology behind what is happening to understand the control mechanisms that are needed for it to be safe and secure? If you visit a website, not only are there likely to be cookies tracking your choices and mapping your activities, but there will be certificates being exchanged to ensure secure communication. This may extend to log-in criteria and passwords, or may be implemented by the service provider whose website you are viewing. This becomes particularly important when you are paying for something online. In simple terms, all this is a form of coded access, but this works not only to ensure the correct access rights, but more importantly, to stop anyone who does not have the valid access rights from interfering or monitoring what you are doing. Control What then does all this lead to at the workshop level? In terms of the technology of the equipment, then it is developing to be both more reliable and faster, but the same cannot be said of the beloved OBD connector, which is not only restricted in terms of speed, but will become restricted in terms of access without the correct roles and rights authentication which requires certificates from the vehicle manufacturer. As the manufacturer controls this certificate, then it becomes ‘He who controls the connection, controls the function and ultimately the business’, so the workshop of tomorrow needs to worry most about a connection that they have no control over, but which will control their business. Time then to sign up with one of the aftermarket associations and join the fight to protect access to the in-vehicle data! xenconsultancy.com Most of us are now connected by WiFi in the office but increasingly also in the workshop ”