It’s a new year, and one way to celebrate is to buy a new car, even if it’s only “new to you.” The used car market is a vibrant one, and delaying gratification often allows consumers to forego the immediate depreciation of a new car once it’s driven off the lot. And, in may cases, the car retains all the bells and whistles that were attractive when the model was new. The problem, though, is that all that technological prowess doesn’t know the car has changed hands.

A recent CNN article reminds us how new car purchases often include an app through which some of the car’s functions can be actuated from remote locations. The car can be locked or unlocked and the engine can be started with a swipe and a click. And that, as they say, is only the beginning. The app works through the car’s internet connection and driver interface, and it’s safe to assume that consumers access a very small percentage of the capabilities offered by that technology.

The tricky part is when cars are sold and enter the used car market. Unless the previous owners are proactive, they retain access to the car even after the sale. It’s like a driverless car, only very different.

Network connections and the devices that control our lives are only as safe as we encourage them to be. While we have systems in place to determine whether a car has been wrecked, we have no way to determine who has access to the car’s data and functions. The same may be said of organizational networks.

Call ICS today and let’s get in gear. Remember, you get what you inspect, not what you expect.