Dealing with Hacking

A key concern for both potential riders and system providers in and of autonomous vehicles is hacking: for the former, who hasn’t seen a movie during which the locks on the door engage and the vehicle takes off endangering the hero; for the latter, when there are recalls because of faulty latches, can you imagine the ramifications of a hacked vehicle?

So next week at CES four companies—Karamba Security, Honeywell, IAV, and Alpine—are combining their capabilities to demo how vehicles can be secured from cyberattacks.

For example, Honeywell Intrusion Detection software will monitor in-vehicle network communications and detect any anomalies; the information can be transmitted to Honeywell security centers in real time or during a scheduled upload. Meanwhile, Karamba is running its ECU software, Carwall, which is embedded in the ECU’s firmware so that it validates that the ECU is running per the OEM factory settings, rejecting any commands that are not part of the original policies (only allowing the OEM to make changes during authorized firmware updates).

IAV, in partnership with Karamba Security, has created a “Automotive Security Defense Center” to demonstrate how vehicles can be monitored for OEMs and fleet operators to detect attacks and protect the vehicle from them.

And then there are ransomware attacks. Karamba and Alpine are working together to show how an Alpine infotainment system can be kept from locking up the system via an attack.

Perhaps it isn’t surprising that a study performed last fall by American International Group shows that 75 percent of Americans are concerned about the risks that hacking pose in autonomous vehicles.

And it isn’t just cars of the future that are at risk: who can forget the Wired story from 2015 when a Jeep Cherokee was hacked with the article writer behind the wheel? Increasing levels of autonomy only exacerbate the risk, which is why things like Automotive Security Defense Centers need to be built.