Threat analysis for autonomous vehicle systems

Abstract: Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) have significant role for enhancing logistics operations by providing improved efficiency, cost savings, traffic safety and to diminish environmental foot print. These are all major features of a competitive logistic operations of a modern company that seeks business advantage via its logistic operations. Already multiple types of CAVs are supporting logistic operations in warehouses, mines and generally in restricted areas in factory type environments. Reliability and safety of automated vehicle systems (AVS) can be realized in restricted environment for CAVs that operate on predetermined fixed routes relatively easy since these restricted environments have usually dedicated communication network that is not open to the Internet. This is not the case when CAVs start operating on public roads, in air space or at sea. There are already pilots in place that are using level 5 CAVs for delivering packages for a first/last mile logistic service on public roads and to provide taxi services for public with in a city. These CAVs require full support from AVS and they rely fully on public communication infrastructure to provide safe and secure services. Vehicles that require AVS services are in all practical means computers with full of multiple sensors and software that can and must utilize variable communication solutions in order to function as intended. Therefore, this paper’s research problem and focus is to analyse potential threats scenarios of a CAV and to find vulnerabilities of an AVS. The problem is analysed via general AVS use case and focus is on level 5 fully autonomous system when a vehicle can perform all driving tasks under all conditions without human intervention. Some of the very same vulnerabilities already exists today even for level 2 vehicles that have advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) since they regularly use public communication infrastructure to access service providers data platform. The vulnerability analysis mainly focuses on vehicle to everything communication cases, vehicle to vehicle communication cases and analyses potential risks for intra-vehicle operations if cyber security protection fails. This will provide better understanding for logistic operators how to prevent AVS’s complete, disastrous shut down by an external threat.

Keywords: Cyber-security, Connected Automated Vehicle, Threat path, Intelligent Traffic System

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005593

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