Towards a Cyber Assurance Testbed for Heavy Vehicle Electronic Controls

Abstract

Cyber assurance of heavy trucks is a major concern with new designs as well as with supporting legacy systems. Many cyber security experts and analysts are used to working with traditional information technology (IT) networks and are familiar with a set of technologies that may not be directly useful in the commercial vehicle sector. To help connect security researchers to heavy trucks, a remotely accessible testbed has been prototyped for experimentation with security methodologies and techniques to evaluate and improve on existing technologies, as well as developing domain-specific technologies. The testbed relies on embedded Linux-based node controllers that can simulate the sensor inputs to various heavy vehicle electronic control units (ECUs). The node controller also monitors and affects the flow of network information between the ECUs and the vehicle communications backbone. For example, a node controller acts as a clone that generates analog wheel speed sensor data while at the same time monitors or controls the network traffic on the J1939 and J1708 networks. The architecture and functions of the node controllers are detailed. Sample interaction with the testbed is illustrated, along with a discussion of the challenges of running remote experiments. Incorporating high fidelity hardware in the testbed enables security researchers to advance the state of the art in hardening heavy vehicle ECUs against cyber-attacks. How the testbed can be used for security research is presented along with an example of its use in evaluating seed/key exchange strength and in intrusion detection systems (IDSs).

Insurance of Cyber Risks in International Transport

“…The International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearly stated that increased reliance on data and connectivity will further exacerbate cyber security risks. 10 On that ground IATA created set of guidelines to mitigate cybersecurity risks 11 . It is a overview of international cyber security instruments, documents, standards and guidelines applicable to Civil Aviation Sector with recommendations and short commentaries.…”

Automotive Cybersecurity Testing: Survey of Testbeds and Methods

“…This testbed [14] has mainly been proposed for cybersecurity testing of heavy vehicles remotely. It primarily supports J1939 networks that are found in heavy vehicles including buses and trucks.…”

“…Since [56], [59], [43] are primarily simulation based, these testbeds do not raise any safety concerns for the testers/researchers. Similarly, because the testbed from Daily et al [14] is remotely accessible, it is safe to use.…”

Functional modelling of complex multi-disciplinary systems using the enhanced sequence diagram

“…Zingel et al (2012) used sequence diagrams in the definition of functions for specific operations of a system by representing a function by an arrow and mapping functions between the lifelines of the actors and the system in terms of concrete events. Similarly, Piques (2014) complemented the sequence diagrams by functions, while Daily et al (2016), Chen et al (2015) and Gouhar et al (2018) depicted functionality of a system with a sequence diagram, including the representation of system parameters. These extensions provide support for the use of sequence diagrams in function modelling, however, the question of how to use sequence diagrams for the systematic analysis of a system with multiple combinations of flows material, energy and information remains unaddressed.…”