Security on the wireless mobile highway

Aside from the living room, automobiles have become the epicenter of multimedia activity for consumers. Today, connectivity technologies that enable intracar communications are a critical concern for automotive and technology companies alike. The automotive industry has made a priority of developing wireless technologies that let consumers listen to music on a car’s audio system, watch movies on an integrated LCD screen, surf the Web or simply access an address book on the car’s head unit.

Recently, innovative automotive companies have begun paving the way for a new era of wireless connectivity. The new Audi A8, for example, comes with the option to create a mobile hotspot in the car, and other carmakers are poised to offer similar capability. Enhanced wireless technology, meanwhile, is replacing the expensive cables needed for communication between various components in the car, saving carmakers money and reducing the overall weight of their vehicles, which lowers fuel consumption.

To meet consumers’ expectations, automotive companies must deliver in-vehicle wireless security rivaling that of wired systems. In wired systems, cables serve as secure communications links, requiring the user to have physical access to the vehicle in order to access the data. Carmakers wishing to enable wireless connectivity must use alternative mechanisms to ensure secure communications.

Enabling technologies

Several technologies will be essential for guaranteeing security on the mobile highway, especially as wireless connectivity in automobiles evolves beyond in-vehicle communications to offer vehicle-to-vehicle comms.

Within the car, WPA2-AES can be used for encrypting the 802.11 data transferred from a laptop or a similar consumer device to the car’s head unit, which functions as an access point. AES encryption is highly secure and is widely used.

To boost security further, and to reduce air congestion, wireless devices in cars will also use lower transmit power, thereby reducing the range of wireless coverage.

Wi-Fi Direct, launched by the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2010, uses the widely deployed WPA2-AES security protocol and provides significant ease of use in connecting 802.11-enabled devices to connect to the car securely.

Wi-Fi Display, meanwhile, is a protocol that is being designed for securely transmitting video over a Wi-Fi link. The technology uses HDCP 2.0 to encrypt transmission and allow playback only on an authorized receiver.

Finally, creating multiple independent wireless networks provides another layer of security. A secure network can be created that allows a driver to check the image captured by a rear-view camera, monitors the sensors from the engine or lets a fleet driver communicate with a dispatcher.

At the same time, a separate network, secure or otherwise, can be created for the passengers’ use.

This separation of wireless networks prevents inadvertent or deliberate interference with the more critical in-vehicle communication systems. New enhancements from leading wireless technology providers allow multiple independent but simultaneously operating networks to be created using the same wireless device, avoiding replication of wireless systems.

About the author

Vishal Khemani is a senior product marketing manager in the Embedded and Emerging Business Unit at Marvell Semiconductor’s Wireless Division. He holds an MSEE from the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and an MBA from from Santa Clara University.