Ericsson, Argus Partner on Connected Car Security

Automotive cybersecurity specialist Argus Cyber Security announced a partnership with connectivity and communications service provider Ericsson to offer cybersecurity tools for connected cars, which will include cloud-based services delivered to fleets as well as individual vehicles.

The two companies will work together to help enable automakers to securely integrate and monetize the connected vehicle ecosystem. The partnership was announced February 26 at the start of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The collaboration involves integrating Argus Security Operation Center with Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud platform to provide automakers with an additional layer of security that leverages intelligence findings across both platforms.

The combination of Argus’s and Ericsson’s offerings is aimed at providing automakers cyber security coverage of the cloud, connected services and entire vehicle fleets.

The combined insights provide automakers with actionable intelligence derived from big data analysis across millions of connected vehicles and their cloud services to identify the first signs of an attack campaign and mitigate its damage by rapidly immunizing the fleet.

The collaboration leverages Ericsson’s communications expertise, built over 140 years and from connecting billions of people through connectivity infrastructure, and Argus’ experience in cyber security and automotive, as well as the innovation of 39 granted and pending patents.

Argus connectivity protection defends the infotainment or telematics units by preventing malware installation, detecting operating system anomalies, isolating suspicious applications and stopping attacks spreading to the in-vehicle network.

In addition, this suite secures the two-way communication channel with the outside world and operates across platforms — Linux, QNX, Android and others — to protect the car’s most vulnerable attack surfaces.

The company’s electric control units (ECU) protection technology protects different parts of the car, such as brakes, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), door control units or any other units deemed critical, from attacks originating inside and outside of the vehicle.

Located on the ECU, this suite detects and prevents incoming attacks, as well as neutralizes malware resulting from supply chain attacks or other attack vectors.

“In order to enable an increasing number of vehicle cloud services to interact with a vehicle, we see the need for a holistic cyber security strategy, which demands multi-layered, end-to-end cyber security covering every node in the ecosystem, throughout a vehicle’s lifespan,” Yoni Heilbronn, chief marketing officer for Argus Cyber Security, noted in statement.

Heilbronn explained that through the partnership with Ericsson, Argus is looking to help automakers ensure the security and privacy of their customers through comprehensive cyber security solutions and services, while simultaneously maintaining consumer trust and brand identity.

In addition, Argus’ multi-layered cyber security solutions embedded in the vehicle provide real-time protection from cyber-attacks, including attacks on remote vehicle commands originating from the cloud, such as heating the interior cabin and opening the vehicle door, through a smartphone applications.

“We are offering a proposition for automotive OEMs through the combination of Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud’s ability to manage a large number of connected vehicles with an in-vehicle expert like Argus and its capabilities for vehicle protection and threat detection,” Claes Herlitz, head of connected vehicles at Ericsson wrote in the statement.

Argus, an independent company of Elektrobit, a provider of automotive software products and services, also offers an over-the-air (OTA) software update tool that enables them to improve performance and security, as well as deploy new features throughout the vehicle’s lifespan.

Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and Bosch let the world know they are partnering on a self-driving taxi that would begin testing itself on city streets in the next few months.

— Nathan Eddy is a filmmaker and freelance journalist based in Berlin. Follow him on Twitter @dropdeaded209_LR.

Technology