A secure vehicle-based telematics environment used for enhanced smartphone communication

Communication between cars and the outside world have been a security issue for quite a while. It was demonstrated that hacking a car is easily possible. In this situation it might be a challenge to open the car for more applications, unless you provide a solid security concept. In this paper we will present the "Platform for secure operation of in-car applications" where we develop an innovative in-car system that acts a bridge between the internal network and the applications which require access to certain data, taking care that the in-car network cannot be maliciously accessed, independent of the character of the application running of the box. The key is a trusted zone inside the on-board unit which cannot be modified once it has been initiated, together with a highly secure software concept. Based on this concept, different applications from different users or service providers can run on the system, not being able to affect the system or each other. This approach goes far beyond the current situation, which is characterized by single service boxes with a low security standard. Based on this solid foundation, new services can be offered using enhanced smartphone communication, and examples for such services are given.