As cars progress from being simply forms of transport to smart devices in the internet of things (IoT) era, Intel is hoping to prevent any further examples of a car’s systems being hacked by forming a new cybersecurity board.
To be called the Automotive Security Review Board (ASRB), Intel said the board will bring together a number of top security industry researchers from around the world whose focus is on securing cyber-physical systems.
As the technology in cars progresses, with systems like Google’s Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay becoming standard in some of the later cars, the researchers will perform audits and security checks on mass market cars.
According to recent figures from Gartner, by 2020 the number of connected passenger vehicles in use on the road will be approximately 150m.
Of this number, between 60pc to 75pc of these will be capable of consuming, creating and sharing web-based data.
‘We can, and must, raise the bar’
Intel will also offer recommendations to car manufacturers about how best to keep a car’s network secure, which it has already begun doing with the release of a whitepaper in partnership with McAfee.
Interestingly, there is further incentive for researchers joining the ASRB as Intel has confirmed that those who it feels contribute major breakthroughs in ensuring a car’s protection from cyberattacks using Intel’s automotive platform will be rewarded with a new car.
“We can, and must, raise the bar against cyberattacks in automobiles,” said Chris Young, senior vice president and general manager of Intel Security. “With the help of the ASRB, Intel can establish security best practices and ensure that cybersecurity is an essential ingredient in the design of every connected car. Few things are more personal than our safety while on the road, making the ASRB the right idea at the right time.”
Earlier this month, a University College Cork (UCC) researcher was able to show the vulnerability in autonomous cars by hacking into the system of one with readily-available and cheap equipment.
With just a few changes, researcher Jonathan Petit was able to confuse autonomous cars with obstacles that weren’t there.
Hacking a car image via Shutterstock
