Skip to main content

Ricardo and Roke Manor to collaborate on next-generation vehicle cyber security

International technology company Ricardo is to join forces with cyber security specialist Roke Manor Research to develop solutions that will make autonomous and connected transport robust against cyber attack. Many of today’s new vehicles are already connected over the air for telematics and maintenance, for safety systems such as eCall, by consumers using insurance-based monitoring technology, and by the many smartphone apps available to vehicle owners.
September 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

International technology company 5606 Ricardo is to join forces with cyber security specialist 496 Roke Manor Research to develop solutions that will make autonomous and connected transport robust against cyber attack.

Many of today’s new vehicles are already connected over the air for 6224 telematics and maintenance, for safety systems such as eCall, by consumers using insurance-based monitoring technology, and by the many smartphone apps available to vehicle owners. With the increasing CAV content being included within new vehicles, including aspects of vehicle control through driver assistance systems, and ultimately, fully autonomous vehicle technologies, the potential vulnerabilities to cyber threats will increase significantly.

According to David Cole, managing director of Roke, a new approach to CAV technology design and implementation is essential.  From infotainment, maintenance and navigation, to vehicle to vehicle systems for fully autonomous driving, all provide a potential opportunity for malicious hacking attack.

“The key is to design the security into the product, right from the start. This avoids having to ‘plug gaps’ later.  Our partnership with Ricardo means that we can rapidly develop news tools, processes and assurance schemes which will allow consumers to have confidence in their new, smarter vehicles,” he says.

The two companies are already partners on the UK 5StarS project which aims to develop a 5-star type consumer rating framework for automotive cyber security, similar to existing EuroNCAP type ratings for vehicle safety. Under the terms of the MoU announced today, Ricardo and Roke will contribute additional resources in parallel to their efforts under the 5StarS project, to develop joint product and service opportunities, building upon the synergies of their combined capabilities.

Related Content

  • February 3, 2012
    Consumer telematics driving automotive electronics
    This year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was characterised by consumer telematics solutions, writes Dave McNamara
  • November 9, 2017
    FASTR consortium releases Automotive Industry Guidelines for Secure Over-the-Air Updates
    A non-profit research consortium dedicated to automotive cyber security, Future of Automotive Security Technology Research (FASTR), has announced the availability of the Automotive Industry Guidelines for Secure Over-the-Air Updates. These guidelines are intended to assist automotive manufacturers and others involved in evaluating platforms for secure updates, describing the threat models, providing recommended cryptographic algorithms and detailing a step-by-step checklist for evaluating state of the art
  • February 27, 2013
    The move towards shared telematics platforms
    Is the end for dedicated, in-vehicle telematics systems now in sight? Some seemed to think so at the recent Telematics Munich 2012 conference… Geoff Hadwick reports. Forget smartphone apps – leave that sort of thing to Apple and Google,” Roger Lanctot, associate director of the global automotive practice at consultancy Strategy Analytics told more than 700 delegates in Munich last month at the Telematics Munich 2012 conference. They are a waste of time and money, he said. Forget putting too much data on das
  • August 23, 2018
    IBTTA: industry must commit to trust and accountability
    Without a commitment to trust and accountability, the modern road tolling industry would not have the bedrock which it requires – and which customers demand, says IBTTA’s Bill Cramer When Tim Stewart, executive director of Colorado’s E-470 Public Highway Authority, settled on ‘trust and accountability’ as the themes for his year as IBTTA president, it was a very deliberate choice. Stewart was looking for language that would help deliver the global tolling industry’s message of service excellence to cust