FASTR Releases Guidelines for Secure over-the-Air Auto Updates

FASTR, a nonprofit research consortium dedicated to automotive cybersecurity, has announced the availability of “Automotive Industry Guidelines for Secure Over-the-Air Updates.”

The 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 SOTA systems. The document illuminates one area of opportunity for research and innovation in the automotive security ecosystem.

“Today’s modern automotive ecosystem requires a robust, adaptable approach to maintain the security and integrity of the growing intelligently connected vehicles on the roads. Provenance and operational verification of software components in a forensically sound manner is critical,” said Craig Hurst, FASTR executive director. “These guidelines will serve as a comprehensive, objective resource to help OEMs analyze SOTA systems and make wise design choices.”