Everything You Need to Know About Automotive Hacking

Posted by Cyril James on May 30th, 2021

Automotive hacking

One such industry that has witnessed an explosion of cyberattacks is the Automotive industry. As per reports by Upstream, there has been a 99% rise in cybersecurity threats since last year. And an almost 94% year-on-year rise since 2016.

These attacks range from threats to the US army's troop vehicles to commercial cars. It was recently identified that the popular automobile giant Toyota witnessed a breach of over a 3.1million of their customer’s data.

Such large-scale breaches can prove to be a massive blow to the technological reputation of the firm.

The upstream report also suggested how 2020 has proven to be disruptive for the automotive industry. This is because of both the pandemic threat that hit the industry and the rising numbers of cyberattacks due to an increase in entry points & vulnerabilities.

How Cybercriminals do Attacks Automobiles?

Our world is currently on the brink of one of the most revolutionary technological uprisings. But with such a steep rise in how technology makes our lives easier, there is also an inevitable evil attached to it; this is the rise in automobile cyberattacks.

There are multiple ways in which cybercriminals are infiltrating the automobile system. The most common way of compromising the automobile's security is by exploiting systems such as keyless locking systems, messing with the car settings, the braking systems, the steering systems, and so on.

By doing so, the cybercriminal can not just get into the said vehicle but also maneuver and automate it.

The Different Ways in Which Cybercriminals Attack The System Includes

  • Gaining access through the remote mechanism
  • Using the vehicles app support to infiltrate the system
  • Using remote access to get complete physical access
  • Using remote access and locking the system for the owner.
  • Jeopardizing the owners trip details and data

Learning How to Prevent Cyberattacks on Automobiles

One key takeaway from these growing instances of cyberattacks on automobiles is that the remedial, preventive measures can be taken by the manufacturers only.

There is very little that the user/car owner can do if the car is under a cyberattack. This makes the process even more complicated for the common man when they witness or experience a cyberattack.

To circumvent such attacks, it is imperative that automobile organizations lay down processes that minimize the threat of such attacks.

There are organizations such as the Auto information sharing and analysis Centre (Auto- ISAC) that list down guidelines in a bid to help automobile firms combat cybersecurity threats.

This organization was formed in 2015 in order to curb such attacks and promote the sharing, tracking, and analysis of information of such cyberattacks, all of which are in relation to vehicles.

The Guidelines Laid Down by Auto ISAC Include

Risk Assessment: Analyzing the existing risks and ensuring that the firm is aware of the loopholes and vulnerabilities is essential

Security by Design: Making sure that the digital vehicle designs are secure and in line with the latest technology

Threat Detection and Protection: Figuring out systems that can detect the vulnerabilities and identify ways to protect them.

Incident Response and Recovery: When a vulnerability is identified, it is essential to report such an incident and ensure recovery is triggered.

Training & Awareness: Training and awareness are among the best ways to ensure that there is continued awareness on the subject, and the organizations can stay updated on the latest threats.

Collaboration and Engagement With Third Parties

Understanding the Network and Architecture Framework

Computerized systems maneuvering vehicles have been prevalent for years now. However, with advancements in technology, there has been an increase in reliance on vehicles' intricate network frameworks in such computerized systems. 

There are millions of lines of codes that run for a vehicle to function smoothly. As the technology gets more and more advanced, there could be a higher dependency on such codes, thereby doubling the chance of cyberattacks. 

Systems such as ADAS systems i.e., Advanced driver assistance systems, are responsible for complete vehicle maneuvering and safety.

Therefore, this is imperative that manufacturers of such ADAS systems are secured by high-end cybersecurity functionalities that make it difficult for such breaches to occur. 

Firms thereby work to come up with their own set of strategies that helps protect their system. This could be a combination of tools readily available in the market for threat detection or creating a novel security network check that helps detects vulnerabilities from a grass root level. 

Such systems must troubleshoot and predict such attacks well in advance to prevent system downtime.

Read Also: Guide to Penetration Testing

The Top Threats Within The Automotive Hacking Industry

Based on the Upstream report, it is suggested that there was a rise in the servers that were targeted in the automotive industry. The automotive cyber-attacks were mostly carried out to disrupt business, steal property, and demand ransom from the users. 

Most of these were black hat hackers that aimed to jeopardized automotive cybersecurity. It was overserved that threats by the UNECE WP.29 regulation indicated that 89.9% of all attacks were directed towards communication channels. 

Almost 86.7% of threats were related to vehicle data and code.

Standards and Regulations That Promise to Protect

ISO 21434: ISO 21434 has been designed to ensure that vehicles and the automotive industry as a whole have maximum security guidelines. It covers everything from design to decommission by application within the automotive universe. 

This is relevant for the components of the car, its software, its electronic systems, and more. ISO 21434 aims to provide a comprehensive guideline for the threats the automotive industry faces against cyberthreats. 

Owing to the increase in cyberattacks, new standards were devised to ensure a structured process that would monitor the automotive industry. 

The guideline is denied with the intent to have firms follow diligence by implementing these cybersecurity management processes

Two upcoming guidelines include UNECE WP.29 automotive cybersecurity regulations that will add to the level of protection required by the industry as a whole. 

With these upcoming guidelines in place, there is the hope of a more cyber secure future for the automotive industry.

If you want to more about cybersecurity threats contact SecureTriad: a Penetration Testing Company based in Sydney, Australia. 

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Cyril James

About the Author

Cyril James
Joined: March 12th, 2021
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