An Integrative Hands-on Approach to Vehicular Security Education

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

Automotive systems have rapidly transformed in recent years, with an explosive infusion of autonomous features. These features integrate a variety of new sensors, actuators, computer elements, communication protocols, and software. Unfortunately, this trend also has increased the vulnerability of these systems to cyber-attacks. There has been limited awareness of the cybersecurity challenges posed by automotive electronics, even within the cybersecurity research community. This project will address this crucial problem by developing an exploration platform and suite of experiments to enable the dissemination of vehicular security concepts. The platform will target multidisciplinary undergraduate students across STEM areas relevant to transportation. It can be deployed as a comprehensive hands-on lab in a course targeting vehicular security. Individual experiments can also be used in a cybersecurity, hardware security, or wireless networking course, on the one hand, and courses on vehicular systems traditionally offered in Civil and Mechanical Engineering departments on the other. Modules from the platform can also be used for training transportation engineers, vehicular electronics designers, and practitioners in the security of hardware and cyber-physical systems. The project aligns closely with the National Science Foundation's mission of achieving a "truly secure cyberspace in today's networked, distributed, and asynchronous world." It will facilitate the creation of a crucial workforce for robust, cyber-resilient autonomous transportation systems. Moreover, the educational materials will give students a strong competitive edge in a highly promising, emergent market and help them assume leadership roles in academia, industry, and the public sector. The project has three technical objectives. First, it will create a unified exploration platform covering the spectrum of security concepts in emerging vehicular systems, including hardware, sensor, compute, network, and full platform levels. Second, it will create a vehicle for disciplined dissemination of vehicular security concepts through a hands-on learning platform. The students will get a chance not just to comprehend known attacks but also to discover new attacks and defenses. This hands-on, immersive learning is a radically different approach to teaching vehicular systems security and cybersecurity and hardware security topics in general. Third, the project will conduct design-based research and evaluation of hands-on, immersive learning as a mechanism for disseminating cybersecurity concepts and promoting the fundamental understanding of cybersecurity learning for students with different academic backgrounds. This project is supported by the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program, which funds proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, and in this case specifically cybersecurity education. The SaTC program aligns with the Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan and the National Privacy Research Strategy to protect and preserve the growing social and economic benefits of cyber systems while ensuring security and privacy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.