As we can see, most of the industries are evolving on a digital level heading and undertaking a journey to edge computing. The automotive industry is experiencing technological innovation on next level. There has been an increased production of connected vehicles, new autonomous features, and software that assist the cars to self-park and self-drive and many more. The sector is taking a profound shift as the cars are becoming more potent, safe, and intelligent than ever. This has become possible because of increasing number of electric control systems, smart parts, embedded systems, and APIs.
The growing dependence on technology has left us prone to increased risk, and for automakers, automotive cybersecurity has emerged as an important issue. The cyber security professionals are playing a significant role for modern automotive companies who are aiming for connected car security.
Variations in Automotive vehicles
A connected or automotive vehicle is the one which is connected to internet for its functions. It is prominent to share data with devices inside and outside the vehicle. Below, we have discussed the benefits of connected vehicles:
- Internet connection streamlines the data transfers and communication with servers and other online gadgets.
- Connected or automotive vehicles collect and gather information drivers that may monitor and utilize to improve driving. They include vehicle performance, fuel efficiency, and component health.
- These cars consists online destination and point-of-interest searches. Adding to it, it has real-time GPS navigation with real-time traffic updates.
- Users can use cutting-edge smart car safety features that comprises lane-keeping systems and automated emergency help in case of an accident.
Types of Automotive Cyber Threats
Nevertheless, the automotive industry are being exposed to several vehicle cyber threat, such as remote hacking. Hackers take advantage of the weaknesses in the car's communication or software systems to gain unauthorized access. When it comes to automotive threats, there are countless methods that hackers undertake to steal vehicles and driver information and cause problems with the functioning of vehicles. Let's discuss top cyber security threats faced by the automotive industry:
- Keyless car theft- It is considered to be the most prominent threats and need major concern for the automotive industry. Key fobs give the car owners the ability to lock and unlock their doors by standing near the vehicle and even start their car without the physical key. This enabled with keyless start and keyless entry with makes it vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. This attacks can intercept the data connection between the car and the key fob itself. These loopholes are exploited by the hackers to bypass authentication protocols by tricking the components into thinking they are in proximity. Thus, the attacker can open the door and start the vehicle without triggering any alarms.
- Infotainment system attacks- The connected cars need over 100 million lines of code to function. Most of the code goes into the vehicle's firmware and software that allows navigation, USB, CarPlay, SOS functions and many more. These systems provide attackers an open door to an automobile's ECU, thus, endangering lives and compromising control of the vehicle. These may exist some code vulnerabilities that manufacturers need to address, and as infotainment systems continue to become more complex and sophisticated.
- Brute force network attack- This is a kind of good old-fashioned attack. The threats faced by the connected and automated vehicles and businesses in the automotive industry are same as the common cloud security threats. Brute force attacks are tried and tested cyber attacks that target a network with the aim to crack credentials. These type of attacks can have far-reaching impacts. The lists of victims include the manufacturers, dealers and owners. When the credentials are compromised, the whole system become prone to sophisticated attacks that can end in faulty firmware, massive data leaks and vehicle theft.
- Phishing attacks- There's another way to obtain the credentials to enter a target network, i.e., through social engineering attacks such as phishing. Hackers will send automotive company employees an email where they act as a trusted sender and complete with official-looking HTML and signature. This way, the attacker will ask for the credentials outright, but usually they place a link with malicious code in the email. When the receiver clicks the link, the malicious code becomes functional and the hackers roam freely in the target system, get access to sensitive data and execute further attacks from the inside.
- Ransomware- Ransomware is the most famous treats in the digital era. The automotive industry is also endangered with these attacks. Hackers can hold a company's data hostage in return for a significant ransom. Without the right credit protection services, automotive businesses can face some difficulty. These attacks also affects IT systems and operations can cause expensive shutdowns.
- Automotive supply chain attacks- The automotive industry makes use of a complex supply chain to source the components that are required to build new vehicles, perform repairs and provide services. This supply chain promotes a huge risk to the industry, due to each vulnerable connected endpoint. These supply chain attacks can trickle down the consumers. The connected cars may be provided with updates containing malicious code, which can be pushed to connected cars.
How to secure the Automotive industry?
Cybersecurity shall be the primary goal for the automotive lifecycle. It is also suggested that automakers enhance their cyber security expertise to monitor connected and automated vehicles on the road.
Recently, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released its recommended best practices on cyber security for modern vehicles to strengthen the data architecture of vehicles and safeguard against significant attacks.
It is suggested that the automotive industry shall follow the cyber security framework from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that considers five main functions: identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. The recommendations from NHTSA are based on the NIST framework but written specifically for the automotive industry.
And lastly, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also well-established regulations for connected and automated vehicles. As per the new Safeguards Rule, the dealers are expected to meet cyber security compliance for their organizations and vehicles.
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