The system is supposedly vulnerable to malicious cyber-attacks the moment it is connected to a network. Depending on how secure the network is, the attack might not be the successful one.
In the umpteen times, we are sure to have witnessed the news of the hacking of the emails or websites or the hacking of the social media accounts. In terms of showcasing the way a full-blown cyber-attack on the installation of the government would be like, the movies here tend to take a leap forward. Theoretically, these attacks are quite possible, although they might appear to be like a bit of exaggeration.
The threat to security has become quite real for them as automobiles have also joined along this digital bandwagon. The car that is connected is akin to a computer on the network having being exposed over to the interfaces, including the steering, braking, and related information in terms of the occupants here. The vehicle systems would be interfered with effectively by the hacker along with stealing the sensitive data if they are getting access to the vehicle here.
There have been incidences in the past that would be corroborating these claims here, although it might appear to be far-fetched. There are a few of the researchers who have performed these kinds of cyber-attacks on the infotainments along with the other systems for bringing out the vulnerabilities to these attacks.
In terms of realizing such threats, the automotive OEMs, along with the other entities in the value chain of the automotive are well aware of this.
How it matters with automotive cybersecurity?
From being wheels that are driven by an engine to a type of data center on the wheels is how the automobiles have transitioned. There are also 150 ICUs with more than 100 million lines of the source codes within the car of modern times, along with the advanced features in them. With every line of code here, the cyber risk increases for the modern vehicle and is burnt on the ECUs of the automotive. This is the reason why each line of code should be conforming in terms of measuring the stipulations in the standards of automotive cybersecurity.
The threat, moreover, is not just limited to the vehicle in itself, but it also transcends to the back end along with the 3rd party services here. Controlling an EV charging of home installation with the access over to the home Wi-Fi is a great example of the attack here.
The threat can surely take a more dangerous appearance when we are bringing the connection as well as the autonomous vehicles into the scenario here.
We have surely jotted down a few of the discoveries we have made since the incidences from the last year’s cyber-attacks:
- In terms of controlling the climatic control feature, the steering and braking systems, along with the infotainment system, the white hat hackers have effectively hacked into an SUV. This hack, however, was a portion of the research that was done by the cyber security professionals.
- In the first few months of 2020, the percentage of the incidences of black hat hacking has witnessed a rise.
- The keyless remote entry has been the most preferred vector in terms of cyber-attacks here.
- The cyber risks increased with the addition of every new feature as well as the functionalities that are added here. We should understand the potential threats and from where they emanated is sure to mitigate them.