Cyber-Hardening Autonomous Vehicles with the "Big Four"

Modern vehicles are increasingly complicated systems dependent on an array of computing hardware and software. To meet the growing demand for increased safety and new features, manufacturers are using more sophisticated in-vehicle networks to connect more Electronic Control Units (ECU) and actuators. Autonomous vehicles are even more complicated, creating additional possible attack angles for hackers and a greater potential for security vulnerabilities. A security breach could cause malfunction or unexpected behavior of ECUs and the vehicle as a whole, which lead to damages from reputational to serious safety accidents. One of Motional's core values is: "Safety as our bedrock." To practice this, we reduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities through system hardening; or reducing our attack surface and introducing fundamental security mechanisms to mitigate threats.