Automotive Cyber security         

Hackers can target up to fifty different automotive IoT devices (computers) in modern vehicles. As a result, Vehicle cybersecurity is crucial for vehicle safety. There are dozens of computers in modern cars, and they are not simply for navigation or music. Nearly every system in a vehicle, including steering, brakes, and the engine itself, is monitored and controlled by computers. As a result, cyber security for automobiles is essential.

Hackers can steal data or even take control of a car if the computer systems are not properly protected. As you might expect, this makes vehicle cyber security a top priority for customers, automakers, and OEMs.

Vehicle cybersecurity entails putting in place proven defences to:

• prevent data theft (such as GPS location information or data from your smartphone connected to the Bluetooth speaker),

• prevent hackers from controlling or manipulating your vehicle (for example, by disabling the burglar alarm or fooling the collision avoidance system), and

• ensure that no one can damage your vehicle (for example, by resetting your oil change counter so you do not get your oil changed).

Automotive cybersecurity is a relatively new sector that is rapidly evolving to keep up with the industry’s fast-paced technological improvements and the growing number of cyber events. Traditional car safety laws and security standards, unfortunately, do not adequately encompass the cyber dangers posed by today’s connected vehicles.

Automotive Cyber security market         

As connectivity advancements alter the automobile industry, the global market for connected cars is expected to rise dramatically over the next several years. Consumers benefit from a variety of features, including high-definition streaming video, Wi-Fi access, better entertainment systems, and the ability to manage components of the vehicle remotely using mobile phone applications, such as the locking/unlocking and ignition mechanisms.

However, much like any other gadget that connects to the internet, cyber thieves can pose a threat to car security. Leaked personal data, risks to a vehicle’s vital security and safety procedures, and, in extreme situations, full remote control of the vehicle can all come from security breaches. Because of the increased reliance on applications, connectivity, and more complex and integrated electronic components as the industry goes toward more autonomous vehicles, these dangers are only going to get worse. Consumer confidence, privacy, and brand reputation might all suffer if these issues are not addressed. Worse, client safety is jeopardised.

The market for automotive cyber security is presently valued at $1.75 billion. By 2026, the worldwide automotive cybersecurity industry is expected to rise from $2.0 billion to $5.3 billion. By 2028, the market for automotive cyber security is estimated to reach $7.89 billion.

With the daily increase in the number of vehicles on the road and the rapid advancement of the technology involved, it is critical to establish a strong cybersecurity system. If this is not paid attention to, one can hack into the system and start a slew of fraudulent operations. By recognising the risk, correcting it, and protecting the computer’s security system from future threats, an automotive cybersecurity system is an efficient and effective approach for dealing with cyber threats.

The increased demand for an effective and efficient security system is due to the growing acceptance of innovative technologies in the automotive industry. Rising cyber dangers in the transportation and automobile industries will boost demand even more. The vehicle cyber security market will continue to grow and expand as intercity transportation and logistics services improve. In addition, rising demand for commercial and passenger automobiles equipped with innovative technologies, as well as rising personal income, will expand market potential.

Vehicle connectivity is rapidly expanding, resulting in a plethora of new capabilities and appealing business models. Simultaneously, the threat of cyber-attacks on vehicle networks is increasing. Such attacks endanger the vehicle’s functioning safety and may result in monetary loss.

In addition to long-established technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and big data and analytics, newer technologies like the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain have several uses in the automotive industry.

Electric Vehicle Cyber security

Because technology is rapidly advancing, there is an increasing need to concentrate on the cyber security of electric vehicles. Owners and the EV industry should boost up their efforts to protect vehicles and charging infrastructure from cyber-attacks, given the rush to migrate to electric cars and trucks.

The spread of potentially vulnerable EV charging stations around the world offers a significant cyber threat as electric vehicles become a larger part of the market. If cybersecurity is not prioritised, these stations might become a hacker superhighway.

There are a few key cybersecurity best practises that serve as the first line of defence against hackers.

• It is critical to evaluate firewall and router setups on a regular basis.

• Make a list of all the components in EVCS and look for vulnerabilities on a granular level in each of them.

• Public-facing web instances pose a substantial threat to important sectors, yet security teams routinely ignore them. As a result, the entire environment is more vulnerable to cyberattacks. It is critical to keep track of your assets’ exposure, especially in certain industries.

• Have a robust password policy in place.

• Limit access to assets based on the employee’s clearance level.

• Employees and those working in vital industries must receive cybersecurity awareness training.

In a nutshell, electric vehicle charging infrastructure is a device (or set of devices) that waits for another device to connect and begin communicating without the use of a third-party firewall or other cybersecurity devices – all these technologies must be built into the charging station itself. EV charging stations/technologies are particularly vulnerable to attacks due to their complexity and quick proliferation, as some security precautions may be disregarded. Hackers appear to have a lot of access to electric vehicle charging facilities.

The global effort to extend the use of electric vehicles is picking up speed, and 2021 saw a boom in EV sales. Electric vehicle sales are at an all-time high as purchasers rush to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to EVs due to rising fuel costs, which are exacerbated by global geopolitical tensions. With the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) around the world, malicious attackers will target the EV industry to cause disorder among the citizens of a country and disrupt day-to-day operations of a metropolis.

EV charging infrastructure, like any other connected device, is subject to cyber-attacks. Nonetheless, the complexity and rapid evolution of technology and connected gadgets endangers this technology. Whether on the device itself or through a third-party app, they will require the same level of monitoring and protection to ensure that they do not open doors for hackers to pass through. As the number of electric vehicles on the road increases and more EV charging stations are built around the world, it is vital that we focus on sophisticated cybersecurity measures to keep drivers safe and safeguard the critical data in our vehicles.

Keeping a continual eye on both known and unknown threats is the best method for cybersecurity professionals to protect charging stations from intrusions. Utilities, for example, rely on IPKeys Cyber Partners’ developing VSOC (Vehicle Security Operations Centre) platform. This programme provides for cybersecurity during the post-production phase. Protecting connected vehicles and the smart mobility ecosystem is critical, as it allows companies to monitor their whole infrastructure and vehicles in real time, as well as detect cyber threats using automotive-specific analytics.

Cybersecurity approaches and solutions for commercial Vehicles

For the commercial vehicle domain, there are a range of cybersecurity techniques and solutions. Most solutions appear to come from other disciplines, particularly the automobile domain. However, due to the characteristics of the commercial vehicle area, some adaptations will be required.

Legacy Vehicles

Improving the cybersecurity characteristics of commercial cars that are already on the road is difficult, if not impossible. To prevent the most likely attack scenario, either use a fleet management solution to connect vehicles with known vulnerabilities to the Internet and turn off all wireless interfaces or use a filter between all external communication interfaces and the vehicle’s electronics network.

Separation and Network Architectures

Modern network topologies use gateways to divide networks and use firewalls and filters to separate network segments. No network with external interfaces links directly to a safety-critical network, such as the powertrain network, and all traffic is routed through a gateway with a firewall first. There may be dedicated networks connecting only two nodes, such as an ADAS controller and a camera.

The car industry is already moving toward the next domain controller architecture, in which only a few sophisticated domain controllers, often connected by Ethernet, connect to basic electronics components. The domain controller design follows the same network isolation paradigm for security reasons.

On-Board Communication Security

One of the most important security goals is to secure on-board communication. Authentication is usually always the essential security purpose; however, encryption is also interesting in a few circumstances. An adversary’s ability to develop further is highly hampered by such authenticated on-board communication. For example, if an adversary successfully compromises a telematics unit or an OBD dongle, the attacker is only able to authenticate messages sent to components on a pre-defined list but not to messages sent to any safety-critical component provided the system is properly constructed.

Platform for Secure Computing

Vehicle electronics necessitate a safe computer platform. Secure boot protects integrity during start up, hypervisors or software containers with secure inter-process communication separate software components, and a hardened kernel as well as memory protection (e.g., address randomization) safeguard the kernel. There are also mechanisms for monitoring the computing platform’s integrity, such as employing a whitelist of binary files that are allowed to be executed.

Anomaly Tracking

Protecting a vehicle against cyber-attacks and data extraction is a top priority. A second objective is the capacity to monitor the vehicle’s network and computing platforms to identify potential breaches and improve cybersecurity over time. The output of on-board network anomaly detection systems and ECU platform integrity monitors can be merged, used for local anomaly detection (which may result in a basic local reaction), and then sent via telematics to a Security Operations Centre (SOC), which then runs analytics over all data to find anomaly patterns in the big picture. This information is then given to automobile manufacturers and suppliers, who examine it and begin the incident response process.

Centre for Security Operations

The network anomaly detection systems and ECU platform integrity monitors of vehicles send reports to the security operations centre (SOC). The SOC then takes these reports, analyses them, and looks for connections between the occurrences that have been recorded. Human analysts investigate facts to determine whether filtered occurrences are related to cybersecurity incidents, other abnormalities, or false alarms, using automated algorithms. The fundamental system can be rectified, and software can be updated via firmware over-the-air procedure after a genuine cybersecurity event is proven and the mechanisms are understood. Naturally, the more reports from various vehicles that a SOC receives, the more successful it becomes.

Over-the-Air Firmware Security

FOTA (firmware over-the-air) is a method of updating functionality and fixing faults, some of which may be security-related. The use of FOTA has the potential to reduce recalls. However, there are countless cases of FOTA systems being hacked in the PC network environment. Flame malware, for example, exploited several cryptographic flaws before hijacking the Windows update mechanism and distributing malware.

Software updates are usually protected by digitally certifying the revised firmware, so that an ECU will only update with it if the verification is successful. The OEM and/or supplier sign the code, ideally on a secure computer that is offline and not easily accessible. A secure communication connection between the cloud and the car, such as the widely used transport layer security (TLS), can further improve security. The Uptane framework for safe FOTA strengthens security and divides duties of the relevant entities, allowing the complete system to recover even if a single server is compromised.

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