From carjacking to car hacking: The real danger of cyber attacks on cars

Grand theft auto has come a long way. A crook does not need a gun or a crowbar to steal a car. With some technical know how and an internet connection, a thief could unlock a car, or even disable its engine. Successful cyber attacks on cars are real. Equipping cars with internet connectivity opens worlds of convenience and possibility; however, it also draws unwanted attention from cyber-savvy criminals.

While we’ll continue to hear stories about what could go wrong if connected cars are compromised by cybercriminals, its highly imperative to focus on what can go right when this key component of the Industrial Internet of Things is built with security from the ground up. Securing automobiles and the infrastructure that supports them will be a powerful enabler. We know transportation efficiency and driver safety can be dramatically improved with new technology.

Today, there are distributed security architectures and layers of defence that can be proactively applied to help secure cars from chip to cloud. These include hardware security, software security, network security, cloud security, supply chain security and data privacy and anonymity.

Following the commitment to help mitigate cybersecurity risks associated with connected automobiles, Intel Security is releasing its whitepaper on “Automotive Security Best Practices”, containing recommendations for building security into the design, fabrication and operation phases of the automotive production process.

Some key points from the White Paper include:

–   By advancing network connectivity in cars, the industry has enabled innovative functions such as ADAS and autonomous driving. However, this connectivity also raises the risk of malicious cyber intrusions and infections.

–   With the onset of sophisticated attacks, cars design for safe failure and incident response plans has become a critical component of successful security operations

–  Understanding the motivations, objectives, and actions of potential attackers can be highly crucial in improving the security posture, whether for a physical location or a computer system.

–  With cars becoming an extension of, or adjunct to, smartphones, home automation systems, entertainment libraries, and other components of the digital life, there is a huge risk of data leakage, giving rise to the need of appropriate privacy controls and anonymization of data.

–   Supply chain security is equally important to ensure end-to-end automotive security. Detecting and avoiding infiltration of tainted or counterfeit parts is absolutely necessary to maintain the trust and integrity of the security architecture.

–   A detailed recipe for success is laid out by Intel Security, with considerations for car manufacturers and security solution providers to consider.

Please view the white paper and the infographics below to find out more.