Enigmatos Has Developed a Solution for Cyber Protection of Commercial Fleets
19 March, 2024
Developed a cyber monitoring solution that can be installed after production. The solution is installed in Dan's bus fleets. "The need in the fleet market is immediate, and the business processes are faster."
In today’s transportation sector, one of the segments most exposed to cyber risks is vehicle fleets. This market includes hauling, transport, and public transport companies that operate huge fleets of vehicles that aren’t always protected against cyber attacks. This is the segment of the market where the Israeli company Enigmatos focuses. The company has developed a dedicated solution that can be installed in vehicles after production (aftermarket) and answers the unique risks of vehicle fleets.
In a conversation with Techtime, the company’s CEO, Neta Lempert, explained: “Most cyber companies turn to car manufacturers (OEM). We understood the need for cyber protection in vehicle fleets is more urgent. The business and integration processes are also faster and simpler than processes with car manufacturers, which may take years.”
Enigmatos was founded in 2017 by Eyal Kamir, a serial entrepreneur from the automotive field who serves as the company’s chairman, and Alex Fok. In its early years, the company was engaged mainly in R&D. Lempert: “We investigated, through automotive engineers and cyber experts, the connection between the automotive and cyber worlds, to understand the weak points and how to identify a breach.”
The weak points of connected vehicles lie in the internal communication of vehicles, the CAN BUS. The CAN BUS was developed in the 1990s by Bosch and constitutes the communication infrastructure between the various control units (ECUs) and the central computer. “The CAN BUS is a very efficient communication infrastructure. However, its configuration has stayed the same over the years. When they originally defined the protocol, they didn’t consider the cyber aspects. All the information passes through the internal communication network without encryption and protection.”
Strategic Collaboration with Dan
Enigmatos’ main collaboration with Dan Public Transportation, which invested about 5 million NIS in the company in 2021. Dan connected its fleet of about 1,200 buses to Enigmatos’ defense solution.
The challenge in cyber monitoring in the automotive world is identifying events in the CAN network that may indicate a cyber breach. That’s why, in the first stage, Enigmatos’ system
studies the characteristics of each vehicle in the fleet and produces a unique profile for it using machine learning. After that, the system monitors the messages in the CAN network in real-time and compares them to the profile. When the system detects a deviation from typical behavior, it activates another verification process based on AI to determine whether it’s a cyber incident.
Enigmatos’ platform is cloud-based, and one critical aspect enabling its continuous activity is the data compression capability developed by the company. According to Enigmatos, it managed to compress vehicle data at a rate of 99%, enabling data transfer from the vehicle to the cloud. Enigmatos has already registered about 18 patents in different locations.
The Lack of Regulation
In recent years, there has been significant progress in integrating cybersecurity standards into manufacturing new vehicles. Regulators in Europe have adopted the ISO/SAE 21434 standard, which regulates cyber security issues in vehicles, and every new model that comes to the market must comply with the standard.
However, the standard doesn’t provide a solution for systems installed in the vehicle after it comes to the market, such as telematics systems, location tracking, security cameras, and even automatic braking systems. These systems also connect to the CAN network and produce potential weaknesses not under the protective shell in which the vehicle left the factory. This problem is especially tangible in the world in vehicle fleets, which include many more third-party systems than in private vehicles.
In Israel especially, the Ministry of Transportation has implemented a regulation to help these customers. According to the Ministry’s protocols, every public transportation tender must now include a requirement for cyber monitoring of the CAN network to monitor external accessories installed on the bus.
This trend of extending regulations to the aftermarket is a significant catalyst for Engimatos. “We are in contact with companies that have won tenders to provide them with our cyber service, ensuring they meet the Ministry of Transport’s conditions. Additionally, we are conducting pilots with companies that have fleets transporting fuel and hazardous materials.”
Posted in: Automotive
Posted in tags: Enigmatos
