Automotive Security: AI and Post-Quantum Cryptography Threats

Modern vehicles rely on complex networks of hardware and software, connecting multiple electronic control units (ECUs) and cryptographic modules. As more features in cars become computer-controlled and internet-enabled, the risk of hacking attempts grows.

Join us for a webinar on automotive security and explore how today’s vehicles navigate an ever-evolving threat landscape. This session dives deep into two critical topics shaping modern automobile design and safety:

AI and Adversarial Attacks

Vehicles may use AI for tasks like object detection, lane-keeping, and interpreting road signs. With AI handling decisions that affect driver and passenger safety, unauthorized or unexpected inputs can become a serious hazard.

In this part of the webinar, you’ll learn how attackers can deceive camera-based AI systems, causing them to misinterpret road signs. We highlight an example that involves using special light patterns projected onto a stop sign. While invisible to the human eye, these rapidly blinking lights can trick camera sensors. Because the camera captures frames at specific intervals, if the blinking is precisely timed, the stop sign’s appearance gets distorted in each frame. An AI system can then misclassify it—for instance, seeing a “priority road” sign instead of a stop sign.

This kind of deception can cause a self-driving system to ignore vital traffic signals. Though the demonstration requires technical knowledge and special hardware (like an LED device synced with the car’s camera), it shows how a small, covert trick might confuse an AI model.

Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)

Quantum computing is an emerging technology that could someday break many of the cryptographic algorithms used today. Current public-key systems like RSA or elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) may become insecure once quantum computers reach a certain level of maturity.

Government agencies and research labs are working on new algorithms, often called “post-quantum” or “quantum-safe” cryptography. These rely on mathematical problems believed to be resistant to quantum-based attacks.

For automotive applications, cryptography underpins secure boot processes, firmware updates, and communication between ECUs. Adopting post-quantum methods helps ensure that cars built today remain protected in the future.

Hear about recommended post-quantum solutions such as CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium and how they ensure future-proof encryption for secure boot processes, firmware updates, and ECU communication.

Because automotive components stay in use for many years, planning for quantum-safe security now can save time and resources later. Some recommended schemes include hash-based signatures (XMSS, LMS) for firmware signing and solutions like CRYSTALS-Kyber or CRYSTALS-Dilithium for key exchanges and authentication.