In-Vehicle Systems Security

Complete vehicular cybersecurity from development to post-production

The essential cybersecurity solution to protect vehicles from hackers.

A cyberattack on a vehicle’s embedded systems can be silent yet catastrophic. By gaining unauthorized access to a head unit or a CAN bus, hackers can tamper with the internal messages traveling between the ECUs or the external messages to and from the clouds — ultimately taking control of the vehicle and its data.

AUTOCRYPT’s In-Vehicle Systems Security is a complete solution that covers vehicular cybersecurity at all three stages: pre-production development, production, and post-production monitoring and threat mitigation. All essential aspects for vehicular cybersecurity type approval, as regulated by UNECE WP.29.

AUTOCRYPT provides end-to-end security for the internal system of the vehicle. Starting with TARA, followed by rigorous security testing and AutoCrypt IVS engineering, and finishing with continuous monitoring and reporting enabled by AutoCrypt vSOC.

Highlights

All You Need to Know About In-Vehicle Systems Security

and stay prepared with AUTOCRYPT

In-Vehicle System Structure

A vehicle’s internal system consists of over 100 ECUs (electronic control units), which control a number of electrical subsystems responsible for all functionalities of the vehicle, from handling to connectivity.

The CAN (Controller Area Network) and MOST (Media Oriented System Transport) are two primarily used network protocols that enable communications between the ECUs. The CAN buses facilitate a vehicle’s internal communications for controlling power, direction, braking, etc., while MOST enables the systems for transmitting in-vehicle audio, video, and data via fiber-optic cables.

Other network protocols like FlexRay and Ethernet govern high-capacity onboard computing.

Need for Security

The CAN (Control Area Network) bus is designed to allow microcontrollers and in-vehicle systems to communicate without a host computer.

However, they are not built with the intention of tracking where the communicated messages come from, making the systems vulnerable to external threat actors.

If an attacker were to take over an ECU by exploiting vulnerabilities in the network, they would be able to control certain parts of the vehicle using forged data or injecting malicious code, as well as gain access to sensitive information.

Hackers may attempt to establish a foothold in the vehicle’s various embedded systems by executing attacks that make changes to the memory disk, damage the ECU functions, or infiltrate the core data storage units of the vehicle.

Ensuring the security of a vehicle’s internal structure is of utmost importance.

If the security of the network is compromised, it becomes the ideal environment for hackers to seize control of the vehicle’s core functions like steering, braking, data collection, and network communication.

Network Infiltration Attack Cases
2010. 08 | Message fabrication from tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) resulting in false activation of warning lights and announcing falsesystem failure in ECU systems

2013. 10 | Demonstration of potential attack on vehicle’s CAN bus by sending random malicious CAN packets, resulting in the yield of complete control of the vehicle’s display, acceleration, and brake settings.

2015. 02 | Allegemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) confirmed the vulnerability of BMW’s ConnectedDrive by demonstrating that it is possibleto open and close vehicle doors by sending a simple SMS text.

2015. 07 | Vehicles with GM’s OnStar system were found vulnerable regarding security of door locks and jumpstarting

2019. 03 | Toyota had a security breach that leaked sensitive information. More than 3.1 million people were affected. Additionally, unauthorized attempts to enter the systems of Toyota’s subsidiaries were detected.

AUTOCRYPT's In-Vehicle Systems Security Solution

AUTOCRYPT’s In-Vehicle System Security solution provides complete protection for the embedded systems of a vehicle through a three-step process from 1) TARA, 2) Security Testing 3) Mitigation and Monitoring (with AutoCrypt® IVS and AutoCrypt® vSOC).

AutoCrypt IVS not only blocks malicious threats from outside the vehicle, but also monitors communications within the vehicle, responding to any abnormal or malicious activities using its IDPS (Intrusion Detection and Protection System).

In-Vehicle System Security Products

AutoCrypt IVS

An advanced firewall for in-vehicle systems and software, optimized for automotive communication protocols, protecting vehicles from external attacks while monitoring communications within the vehicle, and responding to any abnormal activities.

AutoCrypt Security Analyzer

A software vulnerability analysis platform that generates the software bill of materials (SBOM) through function-level analysis, allowing for continuous vulnerability management and patching throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).

AutoCrypt Security Fuzzer

A smart fuzzing tool that accurately and effectively detects software coding flaws by repeatedly feeding AI-generated random inputs.