Woman In Singapore Jailed Based On Data Stored In Her Car’s Infotainment System

A woman in Singapore was jailed after police tapped into her car’s internal infotainment system, nabbing information to prove she was driving over the speed limit. This resulted in the woman spending five days in jail and lost her privilege to drive for two years.

Though the incident happened in 2022, The Straits Times recently reported that ‘the police’s new vehicle forensics capability was revealed at the Police Workplan Seminar 2024 on May 24 at the Singapore University of Technology and Design in Upper Changi Road. The police said they are preparing to roll it out fully in 2024.’

The Star went on to explain the process and what data the police can extract:

The police’s Cybercrime Command received a request from the Traffic Police in late 2022, to extract the data from her vehicle’s infotainment system to investigate a possible speeding offence.

Officers used the tool to extract datasets including call logs, messages and GPS data.

The police said the data confirmed the woman’s identity, and she was prosecuted based on the evidence gathered. She was convicted in January 2023. They declined to reveal further details, including the car’s make and model.

The police added they are developing their capability to extract data from a vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port.

A proof-of-concept of this was shown at the seminar, demonstrating how telemetry data could be extracted via the port to pinpoint a car’s location, braking and acceleration patterns. The extracted data can then be used to reconstruct a video rendering of the scene to aid investigators.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a police spokesman said the vehicle forensics capabilities will also apply to other vehicles.

These include motorcycles, as long as the vehicle system can be read or analysed or is compatible with the system the police will be using…