SECURITY FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: From End To End

Bill Boldt
Business Development Manager, Security
Blackberry 
wboldt@blackberry.com

Security is emerging as perhaps the most important factor in the evolution of the connected autonomous car. Due to high profile hacks on cars, it is hard to argue that without security you can have safety. Cars are the most software intensive systems in the universe with far more lines of code than even a state of the art jet fighter. 

With being such complex digital systems they have become prime targets for attack, and that is where cryptographic countermeasures come in. 

Connecting the dots:  in the emerging software-defined world,  safety increasingly comes from security, while security comes from cryptography. Robust cryptographic security implementation is how you increase trust, and in a car every system must be trusted, including inside the car, in the smart  infrastructure, in emerging applications-based ecosystems, and in the manufacturing supply
chain. 

When considering automotive security, many factors come into play. Some are noted here (and were noted in a prior blog, but are worth repeating):

•  Security assets (e.g.  crypto keys, serial numbers, etc.) must be installed into
  electronic devices such as Electronic Control Units (ECUs), domain/area controllers, and other processors at manufacturing time. This process is called "personalization"

• Those electronic devices must be distributed to and be installed into vehicles in globally located factories

• They must be warehoused worldwide for subsequent repairs, and be updateable at dealers and repair shops

• In addition, aftermarket suppliers must be able to sell and update secure devices, and
  OEMs must have the ability to authorize electronic devices or not (e.g. enforce warranty  policies) 

And, there are many more.
  
To maintain the maximum amount of flexibility, personalization (provisioning) and updating should be moved as close as possible to the very last minute. Each car maker will be faced with the same
situation and will have to design and manage secure device manufacturing systems, secure updating systems, and security certificate management systems that are global and long
term in nature.

The way in which these systems get deployed will have to be designed to the specific logistical and security needs of the manufacturer.

Fortunately, the tools to do that are available from Certicom; namely, the Managed PKI
System and Asset Management System. 


Asset Management System
Certicom’s Asset Management System (AMS) installs cryptographic keys into devices (such as ECUs, domain and area controllers, processors, memory,key storage ICs, etc.) to ensure they are secure from tampering, counterfeiting, cloning, and other bad things that happen to good systems.
 
Personalization using Certicom’s AMS solution automates the secure distribution and tracking of digital assets, especially when used in conjunction with the Managed PKI services. 

Certicom’s Managed PKI Certificate Services helps high volume manufacturers secure devices and securely enforce ecosystem requirements. Authentication is enforced via certificates, which is a method that provides the highest levels of security. 

Mangaged PKI System
 
Certicom’s managed PKI system was initially created for BlackBerry mobile devices, which speaks to high security and volume production scale capabilities. 

Managed PKI performs four essential functions:

1. ISSUE: Automatically issue certificates tvalidated devices 
2. MANAGE: Track all of the issued certificates 
3. RENEW: Automatically renew active devices 
4. REVOKE: Disable certificates of lost or decommissioned devices
   

Security Design Consulting
The overall automotive manufacturing blueprint must be designed with best practices in mind right from the start, and BlackBerry Professional Services can help with that.  BlackBerry’s cybersecurity consulting and tools help to:

• Identify the latest cybersecurity threats
• Develop risk appropriate mitigation strategies
• Implement and maintain IT security standards and techniques, and
• Defend against the risk of future attacks

BlackBerry is making the proprietary security skill sets that made BlackBerry mobile device the most secure in the world available to the open market. BlackBerry's Professional Security Services teams provide design, analysis, response, and testing ("DART") via a range of services, as noted in the table below, among others:

 
With security skills honed in the mobile industry, industry leading cryptographic  expertise, and decades of automotive software experience, you can see that Blackberry brings it all together.

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Cryptography is the New Seatbelt

Bill Boldt
Business Development Manager: Security, BlackBerry
wboldt@blackberry.com

The evolution of the car into an electronic platform started with cockpit electronics and branched into safety and locomotion, giving rise to Electronic Control Units (ECUs). ECUs are little computers that intelligently control physical things like mirrors, lights, seats, AC, and other things in the body or cockpit; and made for better control of brakes, engine systems, airbags, and other things that make the car stop and go, steer, and become safer. Cars today can have well over 100 ECUs. And that can be challenge to make truly secure.

Fortunately, that is changing. Multi-core processor technologies are being harnessed to consolidate ECUs into a platform populated by powerful domain-controllers. A major benefit of domain controllers is that they lend themselves to being secured by modern cryptography because they can run algorithms faster and store crypto keys more securely. Also, fewer controllers means fewer points for attack. In a connected autonomous car safety comes from security, and security comes from cryptography. Because attacks can come from anywhere, at any time, and on any system, automotive security must be multi-layered, meaning everything has to have some sort of cryptography to protect from attackers. Security awareness should start right at the beginning of design with disciplines such as penetration testing of the software and security audits to find vulnerabilities. And, these should be applied inside and outside of the car.

Once you have a good start you need to ensure a good ending, which means security updates, and that typically means over the air. In between the beginning and the end there should be secure manufacturing and secure distribution of crypto keys and certificates. BlackBerry can help with all of that with security design and testing, QNX's microkernel based RTOS, and Certicom's technology for securing the supply chain and managing security certificates to gain BlackBerry level security, without your having to become a crypto expert.

By now you can see that by providing the first line of defense for personal safety, cryptography is becoming like the new seatbelt.

SECURING AUTOMOTIVE 
When it comes to embedding security into the autonomous connected car of the future, it has to start with securing the supply chain. Security in and around a car has many requirements:

  • Security assets (i.e. crypto keys, serial numbers, etc.) must be installed into the devices at manufacturing time

• Devices must be distributed to and be installed into vehicles in globally located factories

• Devices must be warehoused worldwide for subsequent repairs

• Secure devices must be updateable at dealers and repair shops

• Aftermarket suppliers must be able to sell and update secure devices

These requirements present a logistical tangle. Making a device such as a networked ECU on a CAN bus secure means that it will become one of a kind. This is the entire objective of
personalization. However, by definition that device cannot be used anywhere else. It becomes a unique stock keeping unit (SKU), which is averse to the purpose of flexible, just in time manufacturing flows. Security versus flexibility is a serious trade off that must be managed carefully. High profile automotive hacks have shown the world that automotive security is necessary, but it is difficult to apply especially because it makes manufacturing more difficult and costly. Because security must be injected in the factory and beyond, a secure manufacturing system must have global reach, be manageable on a distributed basis, be updatable by various entities, and remain secure for years. Secure manufacturing, including injection and updating of security assets, will touch factories, warehouses, distributors, dealers, repair shops, and aftermarket parts stores. In addition, security updates will often be over the air.
 

To maintain the maximum amount of flexibility, personalization and updating should be moved as close as possible to the very last minute. Each car maker will be faced with the same situation and will have to design and manage secure device manufacturing systems and  security certificate management systems, that are global and long term in nature.

Fortunately, the tools to do that are available from Certicom; namely, the Managed PKI system and Asset Management System. The way in which these systems get deployed will have to be designed to the specific logistical and security needs of the manufacturer. Therefore, the overall manufacturing blueprint must be designed with best practices in mind, right from the start, and BlackBerry Professional Services and help with that. Also,
in-car and around the car security systems can be developed using Certicom’s cryptographic libraries and architectural consulting services.

Blackberry brings it all together to make the software defined car more secure...and that means safer.

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Not Just Secure, Blackberry Secure

Bill Boldt

Business Development 
Certicom/BlackBerry Technology Solutions

There is a reason that BlackBerry is synonymous with mobile security. It is because security is as elemental to an electronic system as DNA is to an organism—and security is BlackBerry’s DNA. Robust security cannot just be bolted on. It must be infused right from the start, which is why BlackBerry Security has been trusted by world leaders for over two decades and is the mobility partner of all G7 governments, 16 of the G20 governments, 10 out of 10 of the largest global banks and law firms, and the top five largest managed healthcare, investment services, and oil and gas companies. BlackBerry Security has earned more than 70 government certifications and approvals - greater than any other mobile vendor.

The iconic example of the depth of trust in BlackBerry Security is probably the NSA’s licensing (and standardizing) of Certicom’s Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) algorithms, which are quickly becoming the accepted crypto standard for enterprise, government, automotive, mobile, medical, industrial, and IoT security. Vulnerabilities are growing rapidly and present a serious risk for public and private sector organizations, so BlackBerry continues to expand its coverage with advanced technologies, tools, design consulting, and testing services for true end-to-end, layered security. The goal is simple: to ensure there are no back doors, open windows, or lost keys to exploit—anywhere in the system.



In mobile, coverage begins at the crucial hardware root of trust. OS and software authenticity is securely verified every single time any BlackBerry device in the world boots up. Data is encrypted right on the devices, in the trusted network, and behind the corporate firewall. In operating systems, the BlackBerry-QNX Neutrino microkernel ensures safe, secure, and reliable operation robust enough for over 40 car models, the space shuttle, and nuclear plants. It is designed to fail safe, and protect against malware, tampering and data leakage.


Thanks to Certicom’s Security Builder Software Libraries, certificate management solutions, and secure manufacturing systems, it is easy to obtain government approved (FIPS 140-2 Level 1) validation, manage security certificates, and secure manufacturing lines without becoming a crypto expert.

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