Security aware network controllers for next generation automotive embedded systems

Modern cars incorporate complex distributed computing systems that manage all aspects of vehicle dynamics, comfort, and safety. Increased automation has demanded more complex networking in vehicles, that now contain a hundred or more compute units. As these networks were developed as silos, little attention was given to security early on. However, this has become a key challenge in the automotive domain, as these systems have been shown to be susceptible to various attacks, with sometimes catastrophic consequences. Addressing security in such systems requires consideration of the network and compute units, both hardware and software, and complex real-time constraints. We present an approach that integrates application authentication, message encryption and network access control into a smart network interface, without compromising network determinism. A custom interface with partial reconfiguration support on FPGAs enables seamless integration of security at the interface, offering a level of security not possible with standard layered approaches.