Introduction

Security in Modern Connected Vehicles

Modern cars have become a lot more technologically sophisticated and different than those of the past. We are seeing a wider range of new features and functionality, with a lot more complex software. It is fair to say that the cars being introduced to the market today have much more in common with computing devices like cell phones, than their predecessors did. Modern car manufacturers are also integrating support for a broad range of communication technologies for these “connected” cars. With the advent of such vehicles, Linux has become a natural choice for the software platform, with Automotive Grade Linux as a promising example.

Connected Car: A Hostile Environment

From a security point of view, the remote capabilities of a connected car results in a much larger attack surface. This opens a whole new world of security vulnerabilities that need to be considered during the architectural design. History shows that physical access to a device is sufficient for a hacker to gain root privileges. This makes the car a hostile environment.

Abstract

The Security Blueprint documents the security features that are included as part of Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) and identifies areas that need to be addressed from a security perspective as part of AGL. It also gives guidance around existing technologies and solutions. Finally it provides recommendations and requirements for areas that are out of scope of this document and AGL.

Scope

This document will focus on the following key areas:

Adversaries - Common categories of Attackers
Threat Analysis - Common threats to AGL system
Security Concepts - Technologies and practices that can be used to mitigate attacks
Platform Security - How AGL applies these security concepts for platform security
Application Security - How AGL applies these security concepts for application security
System Hardening - Recommendations on hardening AGL systems