Two tech giants will jointly work on incorporating early response tech in smart vehicles to thwart physical attacks and cyber intrusions.
The ongoing threat of cyberattacks and an increase in the numbers of connected vehicles prompted Panasonic and McAfee to join forces to establish a vehicle security operations center (SOC). The center will build cybersecurity solutions for vehicle security monitoring services.
The companies announced the partnership on Tuesday on BusinessWire website.
As part of the partnership, the companies will jointly build a SOC to “commercialize vehicle security monitoring services.” The companies will put a specific focus on early detection and response to cyber threats.
“With the innovative development of autonomous driving, the advancement of digitalization, and the increasing number of connected cars, the risk of cyberattacks against automobiles is increasing every year,” the companies commented. “It has become urgent for the automotive industry to establish mechanisms to protect and monitor vehicles.”
According to Counterpoint Research, more than 125 million connected cars are forecast to ship worldwide between 2018 and 2022. And Statista report says there will be 146 million by 2030.
Vehicles with smart and intelligent features require connectivity to the Internet, either via Bluetooth or internet connection. If insufficiently protected, attackers can use the connection to compromise the vehicle’s IT system. In addition, software vulnerabilities can also be exploited to tamper with a car’s functionality.
Panasonic has already been using SOCs to protect its factories’ systems and networks against cyber-attacks since 2016.
And the company has already developed an automotive intrusion detection system, which can be mounted on a car. The system scans for suspicious activities or cyberattack attempts and shares the data with the vehicle’s SOC that can analyze the potential threat.
McAfee plans to contribute to this threat data, by providing threat intelligence and general support to the global 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. The Company will bring these together and start building vehicle SOCs to monitor cyber-attacks that may be conducted against vehicles around the world,” the announcement reads.
