A Security Enhancement Methodology for Connected Cars

The connected cars are one of the fastest growing markets that use computing power and interconnectivity in car design. The convergence of internet of things and in-vehicle technologies, like remote diagnostics, onboard GPS, collision avoidance systems and Wi-Fi, has paved the road for new and exciting opportunities in the industry. As the market grows, security must be a top priority to improve adoption rates and profits.

Connected cars have become a critical infrastructure of future automotive, and it is necessary to provide adequate security solutions. Connected cars rely on cellular communication interfaces to ensure interconnectivity which exposes them to underlying security risks. This will enable attackers to gain direct remote access to the in-vehicle network of an entire vehicle fleet around the world. The threat increases as in-vehicle wireless and Bluetooth connections become standardized, the threat increases.  Adopting security mechanisms already used in various other domains will add computational time and processing performance leading to safety risks, as components linked to braking or steering could become unresponsive. A strategic approach to ensure risk mitigation in automotive systems would include:

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Increased Visibility: The interaction between the digital systems inside the vehicle and other entities in its environment should be monitored to detect malicious activities which will help to identify errors by enabling real-time analytics of the network connections and its external environment.

Protection Schemes: The number of interfaces that enable data exchange between the in-vehicle subsystems and its external environment is increasing. Exploiting vulnerabilities on specific interfaces might need physical vehicle access, while for others it can be done remotely. Therefore for protecting each interface different security measures are required. These can be merged to achieve the highest threat protection level possible.

Incident Detection and Response Strategies: To ensure passenger safety immediate remediation is required. To tackle these scenario industry stakeholders should collaborate on a robust security program against the ever-increasing automotive threats.

The connected car is no more science fiction but is here providing consumers with secure and enriched driving experience.  To streamline these efforts, the industry should partner with security experts and invest in cybersecurity.

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