Cyber-defense is part of every company's daily life as attacks pour into the U.S. from China, Iran, Russia and Eastern Europe. Upstream is working for automakers, dealer groups, software companies and EV charging companies as automobiles become data centers on wheels.

Cybersecurity is as hot a topic in the auto industry as electrified vehicles and software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Why? Look at the crippling ransomware attack on CDK Global, a software provider for U.S. car dealerships, which reportedly paid $25 million to end a cyberattack resulting in a nationwide outage at dealerships.

Automakers are moving fast to a business model centered around connected cars, SDVs and EVs with extensive software controls. Cyberattacks are a daily fact of life with a steady stream of cyberattacks of every stripe battering companies' software infrastructure and data management. And we are seeing the advent of attacks on vehicles.