The Secure Cooperative Autonomous systems project, which has just been completed, has made it possible to eliminate a number of scientific and technological bottlenecks related to the cybersecurity of communications in Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) for connected and cooperative mobility.
Launched in 2017, the SCA project has gathered 8 industrial partners (Atos-IDnomic, Oppida, Groupe PSA, Groupe Renault, Transdev, Trialog, Valeo and YoGoKo) and one academic partner (Institut Mines-Télécom – TélécomParis) around the issue of security of localized communications between connected and autonomous vehicles and with the roadside infrastructure (V2X). The project focused on cyberattacks both internal and external to the system and on the protection of personal data of vehicle passengers. All of this work has culminated in a proof of concept (PoC) carried out under real road conditions, thanks to a collaboration with the Inter Departmental Directorate for Western Roads (DIR Ouest).
Two major breakthrough results are particularly noteworthy:
- The first one concerns the C-ITS PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) technology, an asymmetric encryption technique acclaimed by the industry community to secure C-ITS services against external attackers. The work carried out within the framework of the SCA project has contributed to updating the Atos-IDnomic PKI according to the new European standards defined in 2018 aimed at making American and European standards compatible. SystemX contributed to the specifications of this new version, which was validated at the ETSI PlugtestsTM in Sophia-Antipolis, during which it successfully passed the functional and interoperability tests
- Another central objective of the SCA project was to propose a Misbehavior Detection solution, a complementary technology to PKI to secure cooperative ITS services against attacks from within the system. The aim was to define the entire chain of operation of the solution: how to detect a malicious vehicle, how to forward the information to a central entity, with what protocol, how this central entity can ascertain that it is indeed an attacker, etc. First tested on a simulator, the solution developed within the SCA project framework was then tested in real conditions on a small fleet of connected vehicles through collaboration between the SCA project and DIR Ouest. This solution is currently being standardized by the ETSI (European Telecom Standard Institute).
Other scientific and technological bottlenecks in the context of C-ITS services will be addressed in the Trusted Autonomous Mobility (TAM) project, which started in January 2021. In particular, the TAM project aims to enrich and further refine the Misbehavior Detection solution developed within the SCA project framework by addressing new use cases such as the cybersecurity of the autonomous and connected shuttle or collective perception.
“With its partners, SystemX is co-building new methodologies, reference systems and platforms to demonstrate the security and adaptability of autonomous and connected transport systems. The SCA project, led by a very dynamic consortium, has addressed all the challenges defined by the partners with a view to improving the security of communications within Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, and in particular the detection of abnormal behavior. Those 41 months had been intense! The SCA project led to the development of a Misbehavior Detection system. Within the TAM project, this system will be enriched by new use cases and the standardization work at the European level will be continued (ETSI, ISO, CEN)”, explained Arnaud Kaiser, project manager of SCA, SystemX.
