Mitsubishi Electric Develops Cyber Defense Technology for Connected Cars

This is an age when many vehicles have sophisticated electronic systems and AI systems that are vulnerable to attack. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has now come up with a multi-layered defense technology. The new technology has the capability to protect connected vehicles from cyber attacks by reinforcing the defence capabilities of the head unit.

Generally, vehicles with communication functions have the capacity to connect to the internet or to mobile devices like smartphones. With more and more such vehicles on the road, it has now become important to have good cyber security systems. These vehicles can even be vulnerable to malicious remote control that could result in theft and accidents.

Mitsubishi Electric’s new defense technology uses a number of security features to prevent cyber attacks. They include an intrusion detection system without high-load processing and a secure-boot technology that can quickly verify software integrity during the boot process.

The key features of the system are as follows:

• The system can detects cyber attacks which target the control of the vehicle and the automotive head unit. The technology reduces load processing as it focuses on attack activities.
• The new technology needs minimal time (less than 10% of the time for a normal boot-up sequence) when it is compared with conventional technology. The Fast Secure Boot technology permits faster and more secure boots that verify the integrity of the vehicle’s software embedded in the automotive head unit.
• Mitsubishi Electric’s new multi-layered defense technology reinforces the security of the vehicle by strengthening the security functions of the automotive head unit. The automotive head unit serves as the vehicle’s main link with the internet. Mitsubishi Electric adapted this technology from multi-layered defense technology that was originally developed for critical infrastructure, like systems for electric power, natural gas, water, chemicals and petroleum, and for vehicle systems while requiring only limited machine resources.