F-Secure UK awarded grant to research autonomous vehicle network security

London, UK – January 23, 2020: Cyber security provider F-Secure has won a £25,000 grant to research the security of connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) networks. The research will leverage F-Secure Consulting’s expertise in securing critical national infrastructure to help the company contribute to the integrity and trustworthiness of the emerging CAV ecosystem.

The grant, awarded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in cooperation with Zenzic and Innovate UK, will be used to support F-Secure Consulting’s research into CAV infrastructure, with a particular focus on mapping attack paths through CAV networks.

“F-Secure is delighted to have been selected to participate in the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Cyber-Security Feasibility Studies program,” says F-Secure Consulting Managing Director Ed Parsons. “We are passionate about securing emerging technologies, like connected and autonomous vehicles, that have potential to change the world around us.”

Specific areas of investigation by F-Secure Consulting will include:

• Finding ways to measure and maintain cyber-physical resilience and identify vulnerabilities and threats to connected vehicle networks
• Determining methods to identify and mitigate complex threats
• Exploring security considerations for roadside infrastructure from a representative CAV testbed, such as identifying previously unknown attack paths, allowing detection efforts to be focused where they would be most effective

The output from this project will provide guidance to help organizations develop secure CAV systems and applications, which Parsons says will benefit people, companies, and society.

“CAV infrastructure - connecting autonomous vehicles and smart cities - is part of a wider technology ecosystem that will change the world around us, so it needs to be something everyone can trust. Working together we hope to create resilient systems we can all rely on, accelerating adoption while minimizing the costs and delays security issues can cause later on,” says Parsons.

F-Secure Consulting operates on four continents from 11 different countries. It provides cyber security services tailored to fit the needs of banking, financial services, aviation, shipping, retail, insurance, and other organizations working in highly targeted sectors. More information on F-Secure Consulting is available here.