Design and Development of Secure CAN Bus Communication Protocol for Industrial Field Devices using Indigenously Developed VEGA Processor

An Industrial Control System (ICS) is a type of information system that is used in various industries. The convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) has made it easier for businesses to integrate and have visibility of their supply chain, including crucial assets, operational procedures, logistics, and planning.In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the development of autonomous vehicles, such as self-driving cars. To enable communication between the various components in automotive systems, Robert Bosch developed an electronic communication bus called Controller Area Network (CAN). The CAN protocol is also used in electronic equipment for aviation and navigation, mechanical control, and industrial automation, among other applications. Communication networks are used in the process industry to exchange information between sensors, actuators, and controllers. However, the absence of encryption and authentication makes the CAN vulnerable to various attacks, which can lead to disastrous mishaps and monetary loss. The paper presents a security-enhanced CAN bus communication protocol using an indigenously developed VEGA processor. The VEGA THEJAS32 is a 32-bit processor, that is based on the open-source RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture, which serves as the basis for these high-performance processors. The VEGA processor is compact and effective, with a 3-stage, in-order RISCV processor core.