In recent decades, the automobile sector has seen an unparalleled shift. Automobile industry remodelling is now software-driven, from autonomous, connected, and electric vehicles to car sharing.
The software delivers the interface for communication between driverless vehicles and the artificial intelligence that controls them. It also provides the network that makes car sharing and ride sharing possible, as well as the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
While these technological advancements provide a number of benefits, they also pose concerns, particularly in the area of cybersecurity. Hackers and fraudsters may exploit software vulnerabilities, leading to serious security vulnerabilities for connected vehicles.
Therefore, it’s a necessity that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) play their part in preventing theft and fraud by embedding automotive cyber security when designing and building their vehicles.
What are Automotive Cyber Security Solutions?
OEMs can use embedded automotive cyber security solutions to ensure that connected vehicles are updated with the latest security protocols.
Through the incorporation of advanced authentication methods, threat modelling, and complex cryptographic algorithms, these solutions also reduce the risks of hacking and theft. They also prevent unauthorised access to sensitive vehicle data and even the takeover of connected vehicles. This reduces the prospect of life-threatening accidents resulting from malicious hacking.
Here are the top three reasons integrated automotive cyber security solutions are vital for connected vehicles.
Safety & Security Sensors in Automobiles
All modern cars have sensors. These range from adaptive cruise control to sensors that help keep drivers in the correct lane. These sensors instruct the vehicle to react in certain situations, providing a safer and more secure driving experience.
Despite this, they are also vulnerable: their signals can be intercepted and altered by hackers. Automotive cyber security solutions are necessary when it comes to connected car technology to prevent hijacking.
Here’s why:
Safety – If an intruder could change sensor data outside a car, it could pose a significant danger. A hacker could cause another driver to crash while changing his steering wheel commands or remotely applying his brakes. Safety features must be built-in to protect against such threats.
Locking Systems – The same principle applies to lock systems. For example, today’s vehicles all use wireless locking systems through key fobs; however, if someone could gain access through hacking, they would no longer need physical keys to steal the car.
Safeguard Information from Corruption
Connected automobiles hold sensitive data, including vehicle location, driving behaviour, and maintenance information, which must be secured against hacking. Data corruption can result in system failures, erroneous analytics, and dangerous driving situations.
To prevent data corruption, it is vital to have up-to-date software, encryption, and secure data backups. Software upgrades can help resolve vulnerabilities and security holes in the digital systems of a vehicle.
Encryption technologies, such as secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS), can prevent unauthorised access to data in transit and at rest. Secure data backups can assist in protecting the availability and integrity of data in the event of a security breach or system failure.
Anti-tampering Security
Standardised hardware and software make automobile models more susceptible to hacking, as hackers may identify and attack the same weaknesses in several models. This can result in the remote hijacking of the vehicle’s systems, allowing hackers to take control of vital operations and endangering the safety of the driver and passengers.
Embedded automotive cyber security solutions must be utilised to avoid remote hijacking. Typically, these solutions consist of secure boot and firmware update procedures, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and encrypted communication routes amongst automotive systems.
It is also essential to mention that automakers should consider establishing a defence-in-depth strategy in which many levels of protection are installed to defend the vehicle’s systems.
These can involve physical security measures like tamper-evident seals, secure storage of essential components, and software-based security methods like access control, sandboxing, and code obfuscation. By implementing such a strategy, automakers may substantially limit the attack surface and mitigate the effects of cyberattacks.
