The Security Aspects of Automotive Over-the-Air Updates

Over-the-air(OTA)updateisamethodforvehiclemanufacturerstoremotelydistributemaintenance updates,performance,andfeatureenhancementsthroughthevehicle’slifespan.Recallsofvehicles costthemanufacturesalotofmoney.OTAsolvestherecallissue,whileallowingconsumerstopay forservicesandfeaturesviaanupdate.TheOTAecosystemincludesthecoderswhofirstdeveloped the firmware, the 1st Tier suppliers, the vehicle manufacturers, and the vehicle itself. Currently, manufacturersdesignedthenetworksforspeedandresponsiveness,andnotsecurity.Thisarticle examinestheseelementsanddrillsintothesecurityavailableforeach.Theslowestandoneofthe mostvulnerablepartsofthesystemisthecommunicationswithinthevehicle.Thevehiclenetworks mustensuretheintegrityandauthenticityofmessagestransmittedtoguaranteesoftwareprogrammed ontoECUsareauthorizedandtamper-free.Specialisthardwarewithinthevehiclemakesthispossible inanoperationenvironment,suchashardwaresecuritymodules. KeyWORdS Electronic Control Units, Automated Cars, Over-The-Air Updates, Connected Vehicles, Security, Cryptography, Hardware Security Module, Trust