Written by Joe Gullo
As we fast approach escar Europe in Berlin (November 7-8), our Rambus security team is reflecting on the continued and rapid evolution of the automotive space. For example, the trend towards autonomous vehicle adoption is rapidly growing, although mainstream acceptance and implementation will likely take longer to ramp.
While progress on the technical side is moving at a steady cadence, the path towards autonomous vehicles must be traveled carefully due to a range of safety and security concerns from consumers, legislators and major industry players. Addressing these concerns is critical to actualizing the vision of an autonomous automotive future. At Rambus, we believe the industry is taking a number of positive steps to do just that.
These include:
- Convening conferences to facilitate the sharing of valuable research and findings from the best and brightest minds, including the three annual escar events.
- Forming industry consortiums – such as FASTR – that develop solutions to challenging security problems.
- Creating academic, government and industry alliances like Mcity. These alliances foster collaborative environments and encourage the timely development of industry standards to address both near and long-term engineering and security issues.
Specific automotive security issues that are routinely discussed at conferences and beyond include altered over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates, unsecure vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the unauthorized collection of driver or passenger information, seizing control of critical systems such as brakes or accelerators, intercepting vehicle data and tampering with third-party dongles.
In addition to protecting vulnerable automotive systems from malicious attackers, manufacturers are constantly trying to find more effective ways of keeping stolen and counterfeit components out of the vehicle supply chain. Nevertheless, a wide range of grey market devices can still be found powering high-value modules such as in-vehicle infotainment systems and headlights, as well as in critical safety systems including airbag modules, braking modules and powertrain controls.
At Rambus, we are working to help address the above-mentioned security concerns with our partners and customers. As well, we routinely participate in automotive industry events throughout the year with a broad range of businesses, academic institutions and individuals. At escar Europe in Berlin (November 7-8), our team will be showcasing a number of automotive security solutions and engaging with our peers. Please stop by our booth at the Hotel nhow Berlin to say hello and learn more about our automotive product portfolio.
