Continental Acquires Argus Cyber Security for $450 Million
5 November, 2017
Argus is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has developed a comprehensive security solution for computerized vehicles, based on 38 granted and pending patents
Continental is acquiring the Israeli Argus Cyber Security (Argus), who considered one of the leaders in cyber security for current and future vehicles. The deal is estimated of approximately $450 million. Argus Cyber Security will become part of Continental’s subsidiary Elektrobit (EB). This is one of the biggest cyber deals in Israel. Founded in 2013 by former military cyber security experts, Argus is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has a team of more than 70 employees and a comprehensive solution suites based on 38 granted and pending patents.
Recently, Argus raised $26M Series B funding from Magna International, Allianz Digital Corporate Ventures (part of Allianz SE), the SBI Group and existing investors Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Venture Capital and the Co-Founder of the RAD Group, Mr. Zohar Zisapel. “With the acquisition of Argus Cyber Security we are enhancing our abilities to develop and offer solutions and services with some of the world’s leading automotive cyber security experts,” said Helmut Matschi, member of the Executive Board at Continental and head of the Interior division.
Multi-layered Protection Suite
Argus has already forged collaborations with key industry players and is successfully delivering projects to vehicle manufacturers and suppliers worldwide. Argus also has representations in Japan, Germany and North America (Detroit and West Coast). Together, the companies will offer multi-layered, end-to-end security solutions and services to protect vehicles in the field over their entire lifespan. “Joining forces with Continental will enable us to further accelerate the realization of our vision,” said Ofer Ben-Noon, Co-Founder and CEO of Argus Cyber Security. “I can’t think of a better time, or a more exciting move, than now to become part of EB.”
Argus will become a part of EB, Continental’s stand-alone software company and will continue to engage in commercial relations with all automotive suppliers globally. “EB and Argus have been partners in developing cyber-security and over-the-air software update solutions since 2016,” said Alexander Kocher, President and Managing Director, EB. “We are now offering to the automotive industry a complete secure solution for the development of highly automated and connected driving.”
Argus has developed a multi-layer defense strategy aimed to protect all the weak points in the “Computerized Vehicle. It includes Argus Connectivity Protection to defend the infotainment or telematics units by preventing malware installation, detecting operating system (OS) anomalies, isolating suspicious applications and stopping attacks spreading to the in-vehicle network. In addition, this suite secures the two-way communication channel with the outside world.
From the ECU to the Internet
Its ECU Protection reinforces electronic control units (ECUs), such as brakes, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), door control units or any other critical units from attacks originating inside and outside of the ECU. Located on the ECU, this suite detects and prevents incoming attacks as well as neutralizes malware resulting from supply chain attacks or other attack vectors.
Argus In-vehicle Protection provides in-vehicle network-wide security by detecting attacks, suspicious activity and changes in standard in-vehicle network behavior. Deployed centrally, Argus In-Vehicle Network Protection examines entire network communication and stops attacks advancing in the network. It supports a wide array of network protocols, such as CAN and CAN-FD, FlexRay, Ethernet (with SOME/IP, DoIP etc.) and more.
Above all, there is the cloud based Lifespan Protection: It collects and analyzes data from Argus in-vehicle solutions and other sources. This suite provides OEMs and fleet managers situational awareness of fleet cyber health on an intuitive dashboard. Argus Lifespan Protection also generates insights on new attacks and trends from big data analytics of OEM and fleet data, and provides the tools to take preemptive action.
Elektrobit (EB) is a global supplier of embedded and connected software solutions and services for the automotive industry. EB‘s software powers over 70 million vehicles around the world.
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