As mobility evolves into a highly connected and data-driven ecosystem, trust has become a critical pillar for digital transformation in the automotive sector. Speaking at the 4th edition of ETCISO Secufest 2026, Dr Tapan Sahoo, Executive Officer – Digital Enterprise, Information & Cyber Security at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, outlined how the industry must rethink cybersecurity to support the next era of digital mobility.
Reflecting on Maruti Suzuki’s journey in India since 1983, Sahoo noted that the company’s transformation has gone beyond manufacturing vehicles to building a nationwide ecosystem of suppliers, dealers, and services. Today, mobility itself is being redefined by digital technologies. “Mobility today is not just about moving vehicles from one place to another. It is about moving data, moving decisions, and moving digital confidence at scale,” he said.
Sahoo explained that global megatrends such as carbon neutrality targets, demographic shifts, and rapid technological adoption are reshaping the mobility landscape. As vehicles become increasingly connected, autonomous, shared, and electrified, the industry is witnessing a dramatic rise in digital dependencies. While these technologies create new value for customers, they also introduce significant cyber vulnerabilities.India’s automotive sector is expanding rapidly, with the country already ranking among the largest manufacturers globally across multiple vehicle categories. However, this growth also expands the cyber attack surface. “When capacity, manpower, locations, and technology capabilities scale up, the cyber risk does not grow linearly—it grows exponentially,” Sahoo said, warning that digital transformation in mobility must be accompanied by equally strong cybersecurity frameworks.
To address this challenge, Sahoo emphasized the need to build security into the digital backbone of the automotive ecosystem. He pointed out that organizations must first secure their legacy foundations while simultaneously protecting emerging digital platforms. “Security cannot be an afterthought. It must be built from day one—security by design, security every day,” he said, stressing the importance of embedding cybersecurity across application development, partner ecosystems, and connected systems.He also highlighted the importance of continuous visibility and monitoring in complex digital environments. “You cannot stop what you cannot see,” Sahoo remarked, underscoring the need for advanced situational awareness and centralized monitoring frameworks to detect and respond to threats across the mobility value chain.
As the mobility sector moves toward intelligent, connected ecosystems involving vehicles, infrastructure, partners, and customers, Sahoo concluded that cybersecurity must evolve alongside innovation. Re-engineering trust, he noted, will be essential to ensuring that digital mobility continues to scale safely and reliably in the years ahead.
(With inputs from Shiva Kumar).
