Security in the automobile
Is everyone on track?
Fortsetzung des Artikels von Teil 2
Same high security guards for small cars?
Do small automobiles not need the same high security guards as premium cars? “Premium cars have more functionality for comfort, infotainment and ADAS systems, increasing vulnerability compared to a small-class car. But the result of a hack, regardless of point of entry, can be just as disastrous in a small-class automobile. So do small-class cars need high security? The answer is yes, but given the price pressure in smaller automobiles, it’s possible that the purpose is achieved by different means and on a different timetable”, says Slack.
Nativel argues on a similar footing: because modern applications like ADAS are currently reserved for premium and some middle-class cars, the need for security in these segments is much greater. But “national regulations could enforce the use of such technologies in small-class automobiles too”, says Nativel. Haight adds that the number of electronic components in premium vehicles has increased exponentially, and that creates the highest security requirements. In this case too, he comes in with the components. Premium automobiles integrate numerous sensors like optical cameras, radar and lidar, feeding live data into a control unit that makes realtime decisions about the handling of a vehicle. “How safe would it be if an auto shop replaced the approved OEM part by an inferior camera or sensor?
To prevent this, the control unit must authenticate the sensor and ensure that it’s a high-grade original product,” continues Haight. Nevertheless Haight expects that because of the trickle-down effect security requirements will increase in middle-class and small-class cars: the functions from premium automobiles will gradually be adopted, and create more electronic components.
“All vehicles are a priori vulnerable”, emphasizes Dr Ulrich Giese, senior director and responsible for trends and innovation in the automotive solutions business group of Renesas Electronics Europe. Despite all the interest in and attraction of autonomous driving “there’ll be no self-driving cars without connectivity. A car radio and antenna is probably standard everywhere, so this over-the-air interface at least is a potentially vulnerable point”, says Giese. That makes the security measures in all car segments equally necessary given the existing vulnerability.
Giese further: “One can imagine a difference — the motivation of black hat hackers, those who might hijack vehicles and, as in PCs, infiltrate malware that can only be removed by paying a ransom.” In this case the target of such criminals could very well be the more expensive automobiles, simply “because you’re more likely to get a high ransom paid by a banker than by a student”, continues Giese. On the other hand, word of such a difference in vulnerability could get around, and perhaps it would be better to hijack three cars each worth €20,000 than one car for €60,000.
- Is everyone on track?
- Slower introduction of new cyber security standards in China...
- Same high security guards for small cars?
- All interfaces can pose a risk
