Eavesdropping protection may be coming to a car dealership near you!
More and more people are using their vehicles as a workspace- for phone calls, in-person discussions, and even Zoom calls.
Ford is now working to enhance electronic privacy in their vehicles. They have filed a new patent entitled “Motor Vehicle Workspace with Enhanced Privacy” with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Vehicles have long been a target of eavesdropping as well as tracking concerns, but Ford may bring built-in countermeasures to a new level.
The following comes from an article at Carbuzz.com.
 Imagine a Ford F-150 at a construction site. The site manager needs to have a call with the bosses, and they’ll talk about need-to-know stuff.Â
The basic system is pretty simple. If the truck knows you’re having a sensitive discussion, and it will measure the loudness of said discourse. Naturally, there are all kinds of work-related talks, and some can be more heated than others. The car will check the immediate surroundings to determine whether somebody is within earshot. If the volume of the private conversation is low enough, it won’t do anything. But if a pedestrian comes too close to the car, a masking voice will be projected outside to ensure they can’t hear anything.
But that’s not all. Ford imagines a future where cars will be used as offices, with giant screens allowing occupants to use their vehicles as a workspace. There’s even a possibility that two or more people might want to use the truck for a private conversation, but how do you keep other people from within the car from hearing your private discussions?
In this scenario, the car will determine how many people are in the car and where they are located. This can be done using old-school interior cameras and seat sensors. Using this technology, the vehicle can track the position of a person’s head and mouth, which can then be used to position the speaker and microphone for that particular individual’s conversation.
According to Ford, it can use artificial intelligence and machine learning de-mixing technology to steer the sounds of the call to a particular individual without the others hearing. It’s noise-canceling technology on steroids.
This may not come too soon, as we see that Mercedes-Benz already has revealed details of a new Super-screen in their 2024 E-Class Sedan that will include selfie cameras, TikTok, and Zoom integration (what could go wrong?).
Be sure to include your important vehicles in your comprehensive TSCM Technical Threat Analysis.