Volkswagen, Toyota steer into safety crises

The two companies announced how they’re reacting to the latest in what seems to be an overwhelming number of safety problems for automakers this year.

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Last month, PR Daily reported how General Motors handled the public relations around news that its Onstar service had been hacked. This week, a pair of automakers are joining GM in communicating some serious safety concerns.

Specifically, Volkswagen has been accused of trying to suppress a paper that detailed vulnerabilities in many of its cars. The paper was scheduled to be presented at a conference over the weekend.

In 2012, a group of hackers (the good kind) from University of Birmingham uncovered a flaw that basically allowed the team to unlock and start some cars, many of which were under the Volkswagen banner. It only took the team a half hour.

A Volkswagen rep sent the following to Mashable:

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