FASTR (Future of Automotive Security Technology Research), a neutral, inclusive nonprofit consortium that seeks to enable innovation in automotive security, has released a manifesto, Toward Tomorrow’s ‘Organically Secure’ Vehicle, declaring its organizational and industry intentions.
Formerly known as the Automotive Security Review Board, and founded by Internet of Things (IoT) technology provider Aeris, computer giant Intel Security, and rideshare company Uber in 2016, FASTR seeks to enable innovation in automotive security by marshaling industry-wide collaboration on the actionable applied and theoretical R&D needed now to drive systematic coordination of cybersecurity across the entire supply chain and ensure trust in the connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) of the future.
The FASTR manifesto states, ‘Autonomy promises to be one of the most significant safety mechanisms the world has ever built. But autonomy and security go hand in hand; autonomy and trust exist in equal measure. If we trust the autonomous technology in the vehicle, we will deploy it widely, and, if we do not, it will remain a laboratory curiosity. Trust depends crucially on security in and around the car.’
The new manifesto goes on to outline the opportunities that exist to re-architect the vehicle so that cybersecurity is at its very foundation and coordinated across the entire, evolving automotive supply chain. In this way, the manifesto says, connected vehicles would be created ‘organically secure’, and be systematically more able to deal with threats safely and predictably and, ultimately, more able to self-heal.
FASTR says it provides a neutral, pre-competitive, open environment through which the evolving automotive ecosystem can collaborate. The consortium aims to bring together auto-industry veterans and disruptors, technology giants and startups, leading academics, and hackers, to create the agile, iterative research and produce the reference architectures, proofs of concept, code samples, white papers, and best known methods, that automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) need to drive requirements across their supply chains, reduce risks and liabilities, and foster trust in future CAVs.
“We created the manifesto to put a stake in the ground and a call to action,” said Steve Grobman, FASTR’s board president and the Intel Security Group’s chief technology officer. “The connected and autonomous car of the future offers revolutionary benefits: dramatic reduction in accidents, alleviation of city congestion, mobility for all, and more. All of the benefits will rely on non-negotiable automotive security, as well as the industry collaboration and innovation that FASTR fuels. A diversity of expertise, inputs and perspectives is needed in this effort.”
The FASTR consortium has also announced two new members: Karamba Security, which provides zero false positive autonomous cybersecurity solutions for connected and autonomous vehicles; and Rambus, which is dedicated to providing innovative automotive security solutions, including tamper resistance and trusted provisioning services.
Ami Dotan, Karamba Security’s CEO, commented, “FASTR creates an environment that fosters collaboration and data exchange among the public and private sectors to drive toward a unified and global response to cyber hacks through the development of industry best practices, model response systems, protocols, vendor-neutral inputs to emerging standards and R&D resources.”
