The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Auto Alliance), a US-based trade association made up of 12 OEMs including GM, VW and Toyota, is closely monitoring the development of the connected car. The automotive industry, it says, is going through the most innovative time in its history, and the car is already the most sophisticated technology owned by the vast majority of consumers.
Along with improving the driving experience, the connected car has the potential to deliver considerable societal benefit. Advanced navigation and road analysis will ease congestion, whilst onboard assistance systems such as OnStar are already speeding up emergency service response time with automatic distress call technology. Connected technology will also further enhance active safety systems, which are already saving lives. A report published by management consultant firm McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2050, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles could reduce deaths on US roads by 90%, and save the country US$190bn per year in healthcare costs.
But in order to deliver societal benefit, the technology will need to be secured against cyber threats. Speaking to Automotive World ahead of his appearance at Connected Car Detroit by Automotive Megatrends, Jonathan Weinberger, Vice President of Innovation and Technology at Auto Alliance, said the automotive industry was taking cyber-security just as seriously as any other industry. Indeed, the technological makeup of the modern vehicle left OEMs with no choice.
“Advanced computing and connectivity are critical components of vehicle safety systems,” he said, “and they’re also critical to innovative technologies that provide potential societal benefits such as reduced traffic congestion and decreased environmental footprints.” The industry, he continued, is working to keep pace with the dynamic nature of cyber threats. OEMs and suppliers will need to design with security in mind, develop their own internal expertise, and cultivate partnerships with organisations specialising in cyber-defence.
Both government and industry, said Weinberger, will have to remain nimble in their approach to countering risks. One layer of protection that the automotive industry has established is the Auto Industry Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (Auto-ISAC). “The Auto-ISAC allows OEMs to identify trends and common cyber threats quicker, and further enhances the industry’s on-going efforts to safeguard vehicle electronic systems and networks,” he explained. “It’s a central hub for gathering intelligence.”
“We’re continuing to collaborate with industry stakeholders, security researchers, academia and government agencies, to even further incorporate security and privacy protections into automobiles,” he added.
These have included hackathons such as the annual Battelle-SAE International CyberAuto Challenge. The five-day workshop gathers automotive engineers, government engineers, ethical “white hat” hackers and students to work on cars in use today. Among other things, the hackathon aims to foster the skills that the automotive industry will need moving forward, by developing young automotive cyber-security talent and keeping core automotive engineers connected to the cyber-security community.
