Advancing Protection for the Next-Generation of Vehicles

Modern vehicles offer a network of connected, asset-rich ECUs, which are exposed to a large and complex attack surface—one that has only gotten larger as the software-defined vehicle comes to fruition. Our focus remains on enabling highly robust system architectures and working with our ecosystem to ensure the delivery of standards and open-source software, as well as adherence to product security standards. Combined, these enable the automotive industry to establish trust, while ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of assets—all essential factors in enabling the success of software defined vehicles.

 
Tom Conway
Tom Conway, Senior Director, Automotive Product Management


“As the promise of software defined vehicles become a reality, it continues to be an imperative that security-by-design is a top priority. Arm has been building security features into our products for three decades, and we continue to invest into architectural features and research projects to ensure our products and IP are robust against the rising threats. We’re proud to be at the center of an incredible ecosystem, which are collaborating towards a more secure future, through collaborative projects such as SOAFEE and AVCC."


Our Commitment to Automotive Security

Arm is at the forefront of continued security research and industry collaboration to democratize the development of security for vehicles. We believe that securing the world’s data will continue to be one of the greatest technology challenges over the next decade of compute. It’s a challenge that can only be tackled and scaled with collaboration across the ecosystem.

Security Considerations for Automotive ECUs

IVI

The evolution of the IVI and digital cockpit combines multiple displays and blurs the lines between safety and non-safety displays. The consolidated cockpit is becoming a multichip experience, and security is only as strong as the weakest link.

As the digital cockpit has the largest attack surface across multiple vectors (cloud connectivity, connectivity to personal devices, USB plugin, and the ability to download apps), we have to protect against the theft of both personal data and feature enablement.

ADAS and AD

The reliance on ADAS introduces more security requirements, as the value of assets and data that need protecting is only rising.

The complexity lies in the physical access always available to hackers, and vulnerable assets (including sensor input data and actuator control data, map data, and attestation keys) paired with a huge attack surface and huge amounts of software.

There is a need to protect the safety of the car, alongside valuable ML models.

MCU Zonal and Telematics

The area of MCU zonal and telematics has not historically been a primary security consideration, however, ever-increasing connectivity means that all these chips are now accessible.

These chips are also being integrated into larger systems, which means their threat model is changing. Therefore, best-practice security must be made a reality, and protecting against scalable software attacks as a minimum-viable product is essential.

Product Security

Arm Automotive Solutions Built for Security

Our commitment to built-in security means we actively evaluate the latest product security trends and requirements and, when applicable, apply them into our development and post-development practices. Our goal is to provide top-class processor IP, tools, and software solutions for automated driving, SDVs, and unique in-vehicle experiences with security built in.

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