Powerful IT security for the car of the future – research alliance develops new approaches

Munich, Germany – 25 May 2018 – The more electronics steer, accelerate and brake cars, the more important it is to protect them against cyber attacks. That is why 15 partners from industry and academia will work together over the next three years on new approaches to IT security in self-driving cars. The joint project goes by the name Security For Connected, Autonomous Cars (SecForCARs) and has funding of €7.2 million from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Infineon is leading the project.

Vehicles already offer diverse communication interfaces and more and more automated functions, such as distance and lane-keeping assist systems. At the same time, the automotive industry is working on completely connected and automated models whose electronics architecture will differ greatly from that of existing vehicles. It will have to record a lot more data and process it reliably in a far shorter time. And it will be designed to directly control all driving functions, which also increases security requirements.

With its focus on self-driving cars, SecForCARs stands out clearly from previous research initiatives relating to IT security in automobiles. Connected cars have the potential to offer many advantages in autonomous driving. For example, they improve safety when they warn each other about road damage or black ice. Yet the on-board electronics also need to be protected against external attacks. To this end, the project partners aim to explore and evaluate innovative mechanisms.

SecForCARs is looking at a wide range of questions: How can connected and autonomous cars be developed so as to be more secure? How can such vehicles be tested for security gaps? How can car makers and technology partners ensure that gaps that arise later are eliminated as quickly as possible?

The project brings together experts from the fields of IT security and autonomous driving. The car makers involved are Volkswagen AG and AUDI AG. The supplier industry is represented by Infineon Technologies AG and Robert Bosch GmbH. ESCRYPT GmbH, Itemis AG, Mixed Mode GmbH and SCHUTZWERK GmbH represent tool manufacturers and the security industry. Selected research institutes and universities ensure that the latest results from research are transferred to the project. They include the University of Ulm, the Technical Universities of Braunschweig and Munich, the Free University of Berlin, the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, and the Fraunhofer Institutes AISEC and IEM. SecForCARs will run until March 2021.

Press Contacts

AUDI AG
Michael Crusius
michael.crusius@audi.de   
+49 (0)841 89 573 971

ESCRYPT GmbH
Bianka Ansperger
bianka.ansperger@escrypt.com 
+49 (0)234 43870 213

Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC)
Viktor Deleski
viktor.deleski@aisec.fraunhofer.de 
+49 (0)89 322 9986 169

Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design (IEM)
Kirsten Harting
kirsten.harting@iem.fraunhofer.de  
+49 (0)5251 5465 107

Freie Universität Berlin
Jörn Eichler
Joern.eichler@fu-berlin.de 
+49 (0)30 838 63097

Hochschule Karlsruhe – Technik und Wirtschaft
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reiner Kriesten
reiner.kriesten@hs-karlsruhe.de 
+49 (0)721 925 1420

Infineon Technologies AG
Oliver Scharfenberg
oliver.scharfenberg@infineon.com 
+49 (0)89 234 38063

Itemis AG
Lisa Rottmann
lisa.rottmann@itemis.de 
+49 (0)231 9860 196

Mixed Mode GmbH
Dr. Richard Kölbl
Richard.Koelbl@mixed-mode.de 
+49 (0)89 89868 235

Robert Bosch GmbH
Jörn Ebberg
joern.ebberg@de.bosch.com 
+49 (0)711 811 26223

SCHUTZWERK GmbH
Dr. Bastian Könings
bkoenigs@schutzwerk.com 
+49 (0)731 977 1910

Technischen Universität Braunschweig
Regina Eckhoff
r.eckhoff@tu-braunschweig.de 
Tel.: +49 (0) 531 391 4123

Technische Universität München
Dr.-Ing. Michael Pehl
m.pehl@tum.de 
Tel. +49 (0)89 289 28252

Universität Ulm
Annika Bingmann
annika.bingmann@uni-ulm.de 
+49 (0)731 50 22121

Infineon Technologies AG is a world leader in semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon is the key to a better future. In the 2017 fiscal year (ending 30 September), the Company reported sales of around €7.1 billion with about 37,500 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).

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