UltraSoC joins AESIN to further automotive safety and security

New white paper on automotive cybersecurity & safety available to download

July 9, 2019 -- UltraSoC today announced that it has joined AESIN (the Automotive Electronics Systems Innovation Network) to further its development of secure automotive systems with embedded monitoring capabilities. Such technology helps developers to verify that their products function securely and safely in the lab, and can also be used in-life, providing ongoing monitoring while the production system is in use.

UltraSoC’s embedded analytics products use dedicated hardware to detect security problems such as hacking far more quickly and reliably than traditional software techniques. The technology is applicable to any IoT system, but the incredible complexity of automotive systems and the critical safety implications create a compelling need for such capabilities.

AESIN is a UK initiative designed to accelerate the development and delivery of electronic systems into automotive applications and infrastructure. Security is one of the network’s key workstreams, with a specific Automotive Electronics Security group. This week (10 July 2019) sees AESIN’s Automotive Electronics Security Conference in Coventry, UK.

UltraSoC recently published a white paper on the development of safety critical systems for automotive applications, available to download here: ISO26262 and ISO21434 – Cybersecurity and functional safety: the case for embedded analytics. This paper discusses how UltraSoC’s monitors and analytics help developers of SoCs for automotive applications to ensure safety and meet standards (e.g. ISO26262) and enhance cybersecurity (e.g. the upcoming ISO21434 standard).

UltraSoC’s embedded analytics technology is already being used in automotive applications by traditional SoC companies, a major vehicle manufacturer and a tier one supplier of electronics to the automotive industry.

“We are excited to be joining AESIN and look forward to participating in the conference this week,” said Rupert Baines, CEO of UltraSoC. “AESIN and specifically the Automotive Electronics Security group are incredibly relevant to us and our customers. Enhancing security is a major focus for the industry with an ever-increasing level of connectivity and vehicle system complexity. Cross-industry participation is essential if we are to protect people against cybercrime and hacking – something UltraSoC is committed to achieving.”

The AESIN Automotive Electronics Security Conference is hosted by THALES (the chair of the automotive security group is THALES’ Peter Davies) and aims to provide insights into the latest thinking and experiences from leading cross-industry players, including digital trust, secure architecture, cryptographic keys/authentication, robustness – resilient application interfaces and remote updates/access/firmware OTA (over-the-air) as well as skills requirements.

UltraSoC’s embedded analytics creates an independent monitoring infrastructure that can operate without interfering with the operation of the main system and, being hardware-based, responds much more quickly than conventional solutions. Unexpected or anomalous CPU transactions can be immediately flagged or blocked; faults or malicious attacks in sensor systems can be similarly detected. Developers can also implement ‘black box’ type forensic trace capabilities, logging on-chip activity and creating a digitally signed record that can be used to track the progression of a malicious attack, or determine legal liability.

For these reasons, UltraSoC’s technology and experience fits perfectly in safety-critical and security applications: providing greater insights and monitoring that allow automotive system developers to more easily satisfy the functional safety, risk assessment, testing, reporting and traceability requirements of standards such as ISO26262, IEC 61508, EN50126/8/9 and CE 402/2013, and facilitating the move to cybersecurity standards such as ISO21434 and SAE J3061.

UltraSoC’s recently-announced lockstep solution supports any processor type, and is specifically targeted at safety-critical applications such as those in automotive system design. The UltraSoC Lockstep Monitor is a hardware-based, scalable solution which significantly helps functional safety by checking that the processors at the heart of a critical system are operating reliably, safely and securely. Lockstep operation is needed for automotive safety standards such as ISO26262.

For more information on UltraSoC’s embedded analytics for automotive applications, see here.