Panasonic And McAfee Team Up To Tackle Car Hacking

On Tuesday, Panasonic announced that it will partner with US antivirus software developer McAfee to monitor vehicles for signs of cyberattacks.

The partners will build a Vehicle Security Operation Centre (or vehicle SOC) to commercialise vehicle security monitoring services, with plans to commence service around 2024.

The centre will handle vehicle monitoring on behalf of automakers as the industry rolls out self-driving vehicles whose internet connections leave them vulnerable to hackers.

When a threat is detected, the operation centre will retrieve data from the compromised vehicle, analyse it and deliver the results to the automaker.

The manufacturer can use the data to take such steps as shutting down onboard systems or releasing software security updates.

The service’s revenue model is likely to be based on paid subscriptions.

Panasonic – one of Japan’s biggest makers of personal computers – and McAfee both have track records in cybersecurity.

Panasonic has already been operating SOCs for factories since 2016 to protect systems and networks that manage and control factory equipment and production processes against cyber-attacks – prior to SOC for automobiles.

For automobiles, it has developed an Automotive Intrusion Detection System that mounts onto a vehicle, detects the occurrence of a cyber-attack and the type of attack, and transmits analysis data to the vehicle SOC and a Security Information and Event Management System that analyses data received from the Automotive Intrusion Detection System in the vehicle SOC.

McAfee supports world-class SOCs and Managed Security Services (MSSs), and has the know-how cultivated by building and operationally supporting numerous SOCs. McAfee will bring this to building vehicle SOCs to monitor cyber-attacks on vehicles around the world.

The rise of connected cars and autonomous vehicles puts autos at risk of hackers remotely taking control. More than 20 companies in the automotive industry, including Tesla battery supplier Panasonic and Toyota Motor, formed an organisation this February to collaborate against cyberattacks.