Cybersecurity in Automotive: attacker‑mindset training to harden vehicle systems.
Learn memory safety, input parsing, privilege escalation and Linux defenses in C/C++.
Cover automotive‑specific topics: crypto, attack surface, diagnostics, CAN analysis, fuzzing, ECU vectors.
Gain practical experience in a safe lab with SocketCAN and simulated networks.
How this helps: improve secure design aligned to ISO/SAE 21434 & UNECE R155/R156.
Who it’s for: designed for individuals with embedded/C/C++/security background entering automotive.
Also covers secure boot and V2X risks.
Curriculum
The attacker’s perspective → defensive coding
- Finding weak points: input parsing, memory safety, privilege boundaries (high level)
- Common exploitation families: return-to-libc/ROP (concepts), format-string, integer over/underflows
- Linux hardening concepts: ASLR, stack canaries, RELRO, seccomp — what they do and how to enable them
- Defensive C/C++ patterns: bounds checking, safe parsing, least privilege and sandboxing hints
Cryptography fundamentals for automotive
- Symmetric vs. public key crypto; cryptographic primitives and typical misuse to avoid
- OpenSSL basics (conceptual) and certificate chains; mutual authentication and chain of trust
- Secure communication and storage; key provisioning and rotation basics
- Secure boot: trust anchors, measured vs. verified boot (architecture-level)
Vehicle attack surface and threat modeling
- Top-level architecture and receivers; typical entry points
- Threat models and rating systems; mapping to ISO/SAE 21434 risk treatment
- Logging strategies and intrusion detection signals for vehicle networks (high level)
Diagnostics and monitoring with SocketCAN (safe lab)
- Connecting with SocketCAN in a simulator; capturing and filtering traffic (concepts)
- UDS and DTCs: reading basics; staying in diagnostic session ethically and safely
- Event logging and traces; brief mention of EDR/SAE J1698 (context)
CAN traffic analysis and fuzz testing (controlled)
- Reverse-engineering CAN message structure (high-level process)
- Background noise vs. targeted mutation: goals and safety guardrails
- Translating messages and observing system response in a simulator
ECU attack vectors (to learn defenses)
- Interfaces and protocols: J2534, KWP2000 (conceptual) and Seed-Key challenge–response (principles)
- Backdoors and known-bad patterns; firmware tamper risks (overview)
- Defenses: challenge–response hardening, anti-rollback, secure flashing and signing policies
Boot sequence and secure boot
- Modern boot flows and where to anchor trust; HSM involvement (conceptual)
- Power analysis and side channels (awareness only)
- Defensive checks: code signing, rollback protection, measured boot attestation (high level)
V2X risks (V2V, V2P, V2C)
- Interfaces and potential attack surfaces
- High-level mitigations and monitoring signals
Optional modules
Optional — Infotainment and OTA security (concepts)
- OTA update trust model; delta vs. full-image, fail-safe behavior
- Infotainment attack intro (Linux app hardening, sandboxing) — defensive view
Course Day Structure
- Part 1: 09:00–10:30
- Break: 10:30–10:45
- Part 2: 10:45–12:15
- Lunch break: 12:15–13:15
- Part 3: 13:15–15:15
- Break: 15:15–15:30
- Part 4: 15:30–17:30