Connecting phones to rental cars may expose data, FTC warns.

• Position: INFO SECURITY - Brief article

Automotive IT systems that connect smartphones with onboard media players may put your private data at risk when you're driving a rental car, the Federal Trade Commission has warned.

Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, an attorney in the FTC's Division of Consumer and Business Education, said that when you return the car, those connected systems might reveal your private data to those who know where to find it, according to an article on FCW.com.

For example, the car's GPS device can store the locations you visited, which may include a rental car user's workplace and home. By connecting a smartphone to any of the systems in the vehicle, someone could find telephone numbers, call and message logs, contacts, and text messages, Schifferle wrote.

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