Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - September 2021 - 26

V2X
"
The vehicle is never alone: A secure server system is the vehicle's overwatch.
V2X connections can operate in snow and other
harsh conditions that blind most sensors, but they may
fail in other situations. Though wireless protocols have
improved dramatically, they are still prone to dropouts.
Even a brief disconnection could cause serious problems
for vehicles dependent on those connections.
" While some experts claim V2X is essential in the
large-scale deployment of AVs, in reality, a self-driving
car cannot be reliant on anything external through
connectivity, either to other vehicles, infrastructure,
or the cloud, " said Danny Shapiro, senior director of
automotive, NVIDIA. " Driving decisions must happen
at lightning-fast speed, requiring all sensor processing,
perception and planning to happen in-vehicle. "
Standards provide foundation for security
Gaining the benefits of V2X requires a heavy focus
on security, since quick life-and-death decisions
will be made based in part on data from vehicles
and roadside infrastructure. Internationally, industry
stakeholders are working together to ensure data
integrity, creating standards and developing ways to
share data as new security challenges arise.
V2X promises to enhance vehicle safety systems
by providing input that on-board sensors can't
detect. Given the importance of making sure that
data is not hacked or otherwise corrupted is a major
challenge, one that's compounded by the long life
of vehicles. Creating system strategies that provide
acceptable security risks at levels that society can
support requires broad long-term strategies.
" Maintaining security over 15-20 years is an extremely difficult task and
Chipsets will need to have
built-in security to augment
defense-in-depth software
strategies.
might require hardware changes after several years, " said Achim Fahrner,
head of Automotive Security, Autonomous Mobility Systems at ZF. " Also,
the security activities - security process, implementation of security measures,
lifetime security support, and so on - can cause significant efforts
and costs. In the end, all road users will be protected by cybersecurity, but
it potentially results in significantly higher product costs. "
Several standards have been created to help system designers
achieve adequate cybersecurity levels. Highlighting the international
focus on vehicle security, SAE and the International Standards Organization
have developed ISO/SAE FDIS 21434. Additionally, the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe created UN R155, which is
based on ISO/SAE FDIS 21434. It makes cybersecurity a pre-requisite
for final approvals. Japan and China have started similar security
standard developments.
Standards create a base for companies to build on, as well as
processes that can be followed to ensure the integrity of solutions.
Though the goal is to eliminate vulnerabilities, quick
responses to breaches are an important element in
all automakers' protective schemes.
" A robust security monitoring system and the fast
ability to respond to security incidents in the field is
critical, " said Danny Shapiro, senior director of automotive
at NVIDIA. " Zero-day issues and the value of
targets in the automotive industry dictate the ability
to rapidly respond, within hours or days, to security
incidents that occur in the field. Having a robust
product security incident response team program is
a must going forward. "
Those response teams will work to create patches
that will generally be downloaded to vehicles over the
air. Their efforts will be supported by groups like the
AutoISAC, a U.S. organization that gathers security-related information
and shares it with members. AutoISAC members, which number nearly
50, can also work together to address security breaches as they arise.
These efforts dovetail the strategies built into V2X schemes. The
teams that developed C-V2X and DSRC started with an emphasis on
security. For example, they require that devices have a valid certificate
issued by a certificate authority. Otherwise, its transmissions
will be simply ignored.
" V2X security was developed by industry experts and scrutinized by
national security authorities, " said Onn Haran, Autotalks CTO. " Every
vehicle must use a certified V2X solution by an accredited lab. The
security strength is far beyond the security needed for the next decades.
Having said that, security can be upgraded over lifetime, if needed. Some
chipsets, like Autotalks' V2X chipset manufactured by ST, are crypto-agile,
and can support longer security keys. Over-the-air updates can be
used to fix vulnerabilities, if detected during vehicle lifetime. "
Terry Costlow
"
Who are you?
Security is another huge issue. Signals sent by cars and
roadside stations must be reliable, or they're worthless.
That means signal generators must be vetted and
controlled, while communication channels must be
immune to hackers.
In the vehicle, hardware must protect the encryption
keys. Software must use a layered, defense-in-depth
approach. A vehicle's network gateways and vehicle
buses must be protected, with security techniques that
separate and protect critical driving and safety functions
from non-critical functions like infotainment.
Over the air updates will be critical so vehicle
systems can be updated as new threats emerge. Staying
26 September 2021
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENGINEERING
Autotalks
Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - September 2021

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