SECURING CAN NETWORKS IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

A CAN transceiver with built-in security functions can avoid the complexity of end-to-end security solutions that are especially hard to implement on CVs.

Commercial road vehicles are the backbone of the modern consumer economy. Almost any business from construction, to energy, to online retail at some point relies on the delivery of goods by commercial vehicles, which in turn are becoming increasingly connected both to the external world and to each other via telematics. This enables CV owners to optimize and manage their fleets via platooning for safety and efficiency improvements as well as cost and fuel-consumption reduction to meet the increasingly stringent CO₂ emissions requirements necessitated by climate change. However, the increased connectivity brings with it an increase in cyberattack surfaces and CV fleets are prime targets for cybercrime due to the high value of the cargo they carry, and their importance to large businesses and the greater economy.

While CV manufacturers are familiar with and prepared for the risk of physical attacks - typically carried out on one vehicle, such as odometer manipulation or theft - they may risk being caught by surprise at the scale and impact of what is possible with remote cyberattacks. Hackers can exploit a vehicle's wireless network or internet connection to gain entry into the vehicle's communication network and compromise security to access a vehicle's CAN (Controller Area Network) and take over remote management of the vehicle while it is in motion.