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Protecting Automotive Analog Sensor Security

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PROJECT TITLE

Protecting Automotive Analog Sensor Security

PROJECT INVESTIGATOR

Kevin Fu, PhD
Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

PROJECT DATES

September – August 2019

PROJECT TEAM

Sara Rampazzi, PhD
Research Investigator, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Wenyuan Xu, PhD
Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

OBJECTIVE

Connected and automated vehicles depend critically on the trustworthiness of sensors to make driving decisions. While digital
security largely depends on deployment of existing science and engineering techniques, analog security remains an open research
problem with few tangible solutions. Recently discovered vulnerabilities show the ease to which an adversary can disrupt the
availability and integrity of sensor data via RF and acoustic interference.  The proposed research will investigate how to protect automotive sensors at the analog layer, as well as design patterns to enable systems to better assess the trustworthiness of input from untrusted sensors.

APPROACH

The​ ​core​ ​problem​ ​is​ ​that​ ​intentional​ ​interference​ ​violates​ ​assumption​ ​of​ ​sensor​ ​output​ ​integrity. The​ ​proposed​ ​research​ ​will​ ​investigate​ ​three​ ​key​ ​questions:

● ​Analysis​ ​of​ ​analog​ ​sensor​ ​security​ ​attack​ ​surface

● Development​ ​of​ ​sensor​ ​security​ ​design​ ​patterns

● Testing​ ​of​ ​analog​ ​and​ ​digital​ ​defenses

PROPOSED OUTCOME

Our​ ​proposed​ ​research​ ​will​ ​begin​ ​to​ ​tame​ ​the​ ​complexity​ ​of​ ​automotive​ ​analog​ ​security​ ​security so​ ​that​ ​emerging​ ​CV​ ​and​ ​AV​ ​can​ ​remain​ ​safe​ ​despite​ ​threats​ ​against​ ​sensors.