ARLINGTON, VA — The National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) has formed a new NASTF Vehicle Security Committee to address recent issues raised by automotive security professionals. The decision was made to establish the new committee after a working group of locksmith and automaker representatives met in May and July. Paul Kanitra, government relations manager of the Associated Locksmiths of America, and Mark Saxonberg, manager of service technology for Toyota Motor Sales USA, co-chair the new committee.
The immediate focus of the new committee is to identify and address gaps in access to vehicle security information for automotive security professionals. Automotive locksmiths cover highly specialized areas of vehicle service, including the opening of locked cars and the making of replacement keys. Over the past several years, most automakers have introduced sophisticated vehicle security systems to meet strict vehicle security requirements and protect customers’ property from auto thieves. To maintain the integrity and effectiveness of these security systems, automakers must limit access to information required to perform these unique services for customers.
The committee is currently exploring methods to develop a secure information release model that would establish a national registry of automotive security professionals. Conceptually, Internet and mobile telephone technologies could be used to validate information requests involving security-related data. The committee’s current objective is to establish a model that can ultimately be developed in a cooperative effort among automotive security professionals, automakers, insurance companies and law enforcement agencies.
For more information about NASTF, go to: www.nastf.org.
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