Detroit News -- Two senators are pressing automakers to answer questions about cybersecurity issues in the wake of the industry’s first ever recalls for hacking risks.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent expanded questions to 18 automakers asking for an update to the information on each “company’s protections against the threat of cyberattacks or unwarranted invasions of privacy related to the integration of electronic systems into and within automobiles.”

They also want automakers to disclose “any changes to their vehicle fleet or characteristics, policies, practices and experiences that may have occurred since the company first responded to Senator Markey’s original letter” in 2013.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufactuers — the trade group representing Detroit's Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and others --said the industry is responding.

"Advanced computing and connectivity are critical components of vehicle safety systems, and they are also critical to innovative technologies that provide societal benefits such as reduced traffic congestion and decreased environmental footprints. The auto industry is working to keep pace with the dynamic nature of cyber threats by incorporating security by design, developing internal expertise, and cultivating procedural and operational partnerships with organizations specializing in cyber defense,"Alliance spokesman wade Newton said. "By year's end the industry expects to establish an Auto industry Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) facilitating the exchange of important threat information -- and countermeasures -- in real time."

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