[1] http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/open-sou...
1. The author is "verbing" the phrase
2. The Collins definition starts like "intellectual property, esp. source code..." I contend that (as does the free dictionary), in current usage, "open source" refers exclusively to source code. The author is using the phrase to refer to data, which is not the same thing.
http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=open+sourci...
I think that the tech community is the one that verbed "open sourcing".
The Collins Dictionary isn't even consistent on the term Open Source. The Collins American Dictionary defines open source as "designating of software whose code is made public and which is thus available to any programmer to develop and customize" [1] where as the Collins English Dictionary defines at as you quoted "intellectual property, esp computer source code, that is made freely available to the general public by its creators" [2]
Even wikipedia agrees that "Generally, open source refers to a program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design." [4] and google does too: https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+open+source
I've never heard the term used to refer to intellectual property but regardless, Collins Dictionary defines intellectual property as "something produced by the mind, of which the ownership or right to use may be legally protected by a copyright, patent, trademark, etc."[3] - Log data from a car doesn't seem to fit into the category of things produced by the mind. So as far as I can tell, to "open source" log data is not true to the definition and is is a misuse of the term.
I think the abuse is using a term that recently society has found favorable...transforming it into a verbal tool to challenge an adversary. How does sharing raw log data fit into what wikipedia succinctly states "A main principle and practice of open-source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration, with the end-product, source-material, "blueprints", and documentation available at no cost to the public." [4]
[1] http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/open-so...
[2] http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/open-sou...
[3] http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/intelle...