by Rainer Makowitz
After the malware attacks on mobile devices running the Android operating system, speculations about automotive viruses have soared again. Compared to IT and telecom, the plague of car viruses has not (yet) arrived in the automotive industry. Open networks appeared in IT in 1985, and appeared in telecom 15 years later. It wasn’t until 2005 that open networks made it to automotive. IT-based attacks started to make headlines as early as 1990, and telecom followed 15 years later. Last year was the “year” of media coverage about attacks on cars. Apply this simple time pattern to malware: The virus phenomenon was widely seen in IT starting in 1995, and today we see it the telecom and mobile platform industries. Automotive is still unperturbed. For now.
But it is high time to look at the car as a connected IT system. The software is just beginning to be standardized and countermeasures are starting to be put in place to prevent major threats in the near future.
Here are the main reasons why your car is still very hard to hack if you apply a few common sense rules:
#1 Physical access is required to reach “open interfaces” like the OBD II connector or USB plugs.
Keep your car locked when you leave it.
#2 Most malware routes into the car are indirect in nature via attacks on service equipment and infested consumer devices.
Make sure you have malware defense established on your smartphone.
#3 Wireless access points are still rare and should be well defended.
Security breaches reported recently were due to significant violations of good software design practices in the custom code, e.g. telematics units, so hold off on subscribing to telematics services for now.
At the automotive security panel discussion at the Freescale Technology Forum this year, there was wide agreement that the car industry has to go back to the basics of security which means know your friends, know who you are communicating with, and follow common sense security practices.
Interested? Read the complete entryhttp://blogs.freescale.com/2011/07/21/automotive-radar-at-new-resolution-levels/