Car IT and the connection of vehicles with cloud services or other vehicles via the internet is currently one of the hottest topics in the automotive industry. OEMs that have recognized this trend and are implementing adequate solutions will enjoy a distinctive advantage over their competitors.
There’s a spirit of optimism evolving around the connected vehicle: proposed concepts range from implementing remote functions, such as locking and unlocking doors or starting the engine via smartphone, to using entertainment services like last.fm or Pandora, remote maintenance or leveraging social networks such as Facebook or linkedIn. As diverse as these scenarios may be, they have one thing in common – they all need a secure and easy-to-use network platform.
Safety First! Why is a secure network platform that important?
Just like most new technologies, connecting vehicles presents great benefits but also great risks. Key word “car theft”: criminals could be able to locate a connected vehicle via GPS, remotely unlock the doors and start the engine – all via remote connection. Car-jacking is another threat related to connected vehicles, allowing criminals to remotely stop a car from functioning and demand ransom money thereafter. On the other hand, the same technology and functionality can also be used to achieve the opposite: more security. Stolen vehicles can automatically transmit their current location to legal authorities and then be brought to a halt by the police through remotely shutting off of engine power.
Hence, it is absolutely crucial that only authorized individuals (and systems) gain access to vehicle systems and functions. If that is not the case, third parties might be able to access sensible systems within the connected vehicle through unauthorized access. This poses a risk not only to the car owner’s wallet (car theft) but also to traffic – car hijackers could disable brakes or shut off engines at full speed for instance. This is a significant high liability risk that OEMs will want to minimize as much as possible.
Usability – the key to customer acceptance
Automotive OEMs that are looking to maintain or expand their customer base must reconsider their approach towards the “car experience”. No matter which solutions or ideas they have in mind – usability and ergonomics must be central themes. This includes a comfortable identity provisioning that prevents the user from repeatedly typing in different password phrases. Another important aspect relates to the automatic provisioning and de-provisioning of digital identities through which the vehicle, the car owner and the associated end device are being managed. If, for example, the vehicle gets sold, the new owner will want to instantly access the car’s IT systems whereas the former owner should no longer be able to do the same.
Advantages of a cloud-based network platform
A cloud-based network platform for the connected vehicle offers a number of important advantages for automotive OEMs. One of the most obvious benefits is speed-to-market – a ready-to-be-used identity management solution for the connected vehicle can be delivered in as little as three months. Would an OEM want to develop the platform on his own, this would typically take more than 12 months from project start to delivery. In addition, the know-how necessary to develop and implement a secure network platform is normally not available internally and must be purchased from external partners. A cloud-based network platform also has the benefit of always running the most up-to-date software, which is automatically being updated without any customer interaction.
