As the electric vehicle market continues to expand and technology advances, vehicles are becoming increasingly intelligent and digitized, especially electric vehicles. These vehicles heavily rely on computers and software for managing functions like battery and charging. While this isn’t a major issue under normal circumstances, with the growing popularity of electric vehicles, they could potentially be susceptible to attacks and exploitation by malicious actors. Therefore, ensuring the cybersecurity of electric vehicles is of paramount importance.
It is in response to this need that the International Organization for Standardization and the Society of Automotive Engineers have jointly released the ISO/SAE 21434 “Road Vehicles – Cybersecurity Engineering” standard. Next, I will provide you with detailed information about ISO/SAE 21434.
What is ISO/SAE 21434?
ISO stands for the “International Organization for Standardization,” and SAE refers to the “Society of Automotive Engineers.” The designation ISO/SAE indicates a collaborative effort between these entities, with 21434 being the specific project identifier.
This standard has gained wide acceptance among car manufacturers and suppliers. Its primary aim is to address cybersecurity challenges proactively by empowering organizations to establish cybersecurity policies, processes, and risk management strategies. Essentially, it promotes the integration of a cybersecurity framework throughout the entire lifecycle of automotive electronics.
ISO/SAE 21434 acts as a thorough guide for automotive developers. It assists them in addressing cybersecurity concerns across the entire development process, ensuring that the supply chain is also secured. To comply with this guideline, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers are required to engage in several critical activities:
- Conducting comprehensive risk assessments
- Identifying potential cybersecurity weaknesses
- Implementing robust safeguards during development to counter these weaknesses
- Thoroughly testing both applications and software/hardware components to confirm the mitigation of these risks
How ISO/SAE 21434 Improves Cybersecurity
ISO 21434 standard is valuable to EV technology and product companies. It provides a framework for organizations to improve their cybersecurity posture by incorporating security into the design, development, and operation of road vehicles. Like regular security experts, they’re in a constant battle with criminals, each trying to find ways around the others’ tactics. But, a regular issue in the modern world has been big entities getting caught flat-footed because they hadn’t taken any cybersecurity precautions. It seemed like a non-issue… until it became a very big issue.
The hope with ISO/SAE 21434 is that it prevents this from happening in the vehicle (and, thus, the EV) space. By providing a working standard for the industry, these standards can put up obstacles to any potential hackers, leaving them more interested in plying their trade elsewhere. Its wide range seeks to ensure there aren’t any cracks in the system through which hackers could maneuver. Together with more generalized information security standards, like ISO 27000, it could go a long way towards creating a strong base on which other entities can develop more specialized cybersecurity tools in the EV space.
SETEC POWER Safeguarding our Charging Networks
At SETEC POWER, we have always placed great importance on providing our customers with the highest level of EV charger safety services. Our specialized technical team conducts regular security tests to identify any potential vulnerabilities and must react quickly to potential threats before they occur.
