An empirical study on the security of the Uptane Standard

Abstract

Vehicles are increasingly becoming more complex and use a variety of smaller devices integrated deep within their architecture. The devices that govern communication within and outside a car become outdated with the passing of time. In some situations, there are ways to update certain components, but only with physical interaction with the vehicle. In other situations, such practices are impossible. As OTA Updates are becoming more and more present in the Automotive field, it is essential to be able to update the firmware of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) in a secure way. The current study formally explores the security principles of the Uptane Standard, highlighting the challenges that this field presents and focusing on the limitations and future work potential of the OTA Update field applied in the Automotive Industry. We also identify the need of integrating Secure Coding practices in the development process.