Autonomous Vehicles - KPIT

I. Introduction
Connected vehicle is precursor for
autonomous vehicle to communicate in real
time with other vehicles and infrastructure.
M o d e r n d a y a u t o m o b i l e s e m p l o y
sophisticated communication mechanisms
connecting multiple embedded computers
over wired and wireless networks. Wireless
connections could be vehicle-vehicle, vehicleinfrastructure
or infrastructure-infrastructure.
Hence modern automotive systems are
subject to a much wider range of potential
abuses by cyber criminals/hackers and hence
security plays an important role in automotive
systems. This article mainly focuses on the
security threats in automotive systems, and
the counter measures to safeguard the vehicle
from potential attacks. We first start with a
general introduction of Information Security
followed by detailed discussion on Security in
Automotive Systems.
II. What is Information security?
Information security is all about protecting the
confidential information and its critical
elements (such as software, hardware,
network etc.) from unauthorized access, use
and disclosure. The three key parts of
information security are Confidentiality,
Integrity and Availability. Moreover,
maintaining these three elements is most
important for an organization's well being.
Confidentiality - Confidentiality is about
protecting sensitive data of a company (such
as financial figures, new product info, pricing
etc.) or of an individual (such as credit card
details, bank details etc.) from unauthorized
access or disclosure. Information leak can
lead to financial losses and other serious
implications.
Integrity - Data integrity refers to the
prevention of confidential data from erroneous
modifications, deletion and manipulations.
Integrity involves security measures
employed to ensure consistency, accuracy
and trustworthiness of data over its entire life
cycle. Security measures employed to assure
data integrity include Data encryption, Data
backup, access control, input validation, to
prevent incorrect data entry.
Availability - Availability is about making the
information available to authorized users
when it is needed. This involves protecting
computing systems that store and process the
information from malware and worms,
protecting communication channels,
preventing service disruptions due to power
outages/hardware failures, protection
systems from denial-of-service attacks. What
is Information security breach?
"A data breach is a security incident in which
sensitive, protected or confidential data is
copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen or used by
an unauthorized person." – [6]
Some examples of security breaches include:
•Malicious attackers gaining unauthorized
access to financial assets such as credit
cards, bank details or personal information
•Anonymous persons gaining physical
a c c e s s t o c o m p a n y p r e m i s e s b y
compromising the access system of the
company
•Redirecting customers to unknown sites
hosting similar look and feel to gain access to
their login credentials
•Hackers gaining access to personal
computers to install malware and viruses
III. What is the Goal of an
information security System?
Figure 1: Hacker Attacking a Remote Computer
The primary goal of information security
system is to guarantee safety of information,
prevent theft and loss of IT assets, ensuring
business continuity and reduce business
damage. A secure information system should
have multiple layers of security in place, which
shall include:
A. Physical security
Security measures designed to deny
unauthorized access to equipments and
resources, which includes locks, access
control systems, etc.
B. Logical security
Software measures to safeguard system's
r e s o u r c e s t h a t i n c l u d e s u s e r I D ,
authentication, biometrics and firewalls.
C. Operations security
This includes operation issues such as
c h o o s i n g s t r o n g p a s s w o r d s , k e y
management, secure data storage, etc.
48 TechTalk@KPIT, Volume 6, Issue 4, 2013