Protecting Europe’s connected cars against cyberthreats
Europe’s transport system is becoming increasingly digital. Estimates suggest the number of connected cars in Europe will reach 50 million in Europe by 2026, as the integration of smart, automated vehicles advances. Safety will be paramount in this expanding network, characterised as connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM), and EU regulations will require cybersecurity certificates to defend against any external threats. “CCAM is one of the next big trends in the automotive industry which has the potential to improve the transport sector in Europe, leading to a safer, more accessible, sustainable, cost-effective and demand-responsive transport everywhere and for everyone,” says Fanny Breuil, SELFY project coordinator at the Eurecat Technology Centre in Barcelona, Spain. Against this backdrop, the SELFY project developed a series of collaborative tools to enhance network resilience, data sharing, situational awareness and trust in connected cars. The tools will feed into a broader, global software solution which will manage responses to cyberattacks and other malicious hazards. “It has been really interesting to deploy the tools in simulations and the laboratory,” adds Víctor Jiménez, technical coordinator of the SELFY project. “The cooperation and collaboration of all the tools provided an extra layer of security, privacy and resilience to the CCAM, acting as a technology enabler.”
A toolbox for connected cars
The development of the tools included several stages. First, the team carried out an analysis and definition of the SELFY toolbox architecture and requirements. This was followed by research and development of the algorithms needed to implement the tools. Finally, prototypes of the tools and technologies were developed and tested. Each of the tools was individually validated in the laboratory in 12 different use cases. “SELFY’s main ambition is to become the main European provider of collaborative tools for the self-management of security and resilience of the CCAM sector, facilitating its adoption at all stages of the value chain,” explains Jiménez. Through the project, the team created a suite of 21 tools which can be easily integrated into existing automobile manufacturer systems and deployed in cloud systems spread across vehicles, infrastructure and traffic management centres. These tools are grouped into three main systems, which foster situational awareness, cooperative resilience, and trust and secure data exchange. The Situational Awareness and Collective Perception macro tool analyses the CCAM system environment, integrating cutting-edge connected and intelligent infrastructures and in-vehicle sensors to gather detailed insights into the overall CCAM ecosystem. Tools in this system aimed to facilitate the aggregation and fusion of shared perception data between connected vehicles. The Cooperative Resilience and Healing System safeguards CCAM environments from cyberattacks and security breaches, and is orchestrated by a Vehicle Security Operation Centre (VSOC). Finally, the Trust Data Management System (TDMS) includes tools that build a secure and trusted environment for data, mainly based on cryptographic algorithms and technologies.
Validation in real-world environments
In early 2025, the SELFY team will conduct a validation of the tools in a controlled environment, through either simulations or real-world environments. “SELFY has responded to emerging risks and threats requiring a global, distributed, decentralised and collaborative solution, functional amongst static and mobile assets and actors of the CCAM ecosystem,” says Breuil.
Keywords
SELFY, mobility, connected, cooperative and automated mobility, CCAM, cars, collaborative, tool, development, resilience, data, security
