The Dark Side of Connectivity – How BlackBerry is Helping OEMs Fight Back Against Cyberattacks

The QNX software platform is not new. It was built forty years ago by a company called Quantum Software Systems. In 2010, BlackBerry saw the potential of the technology and acquired the business from Harman International. As of mid-2020, BlackBerry QNX can be found in well over 175 million cars on the road.

BlackBerry, originally a maker of iconic handheld devices called Research in Motion, is now best known for its cybersecurity services.

We’ve been talking to the BlackBerry team about its technology and its recently released 2021 threat report that issues a warning that the unregulated auto industry is highly susceptible to cyber attacks.

“The sheer number of cyberattacks and points of entry that connected vehicles (now numbering more than 280 million on the road today globally) are susceptible and vulnerable to – everything from simple data theft to highly advanced system hijacking,” the team tells us.

According to BlackBerry’s 2021 Threat Report, securing vehicles from cyber threats is becoming increasingly difficult with every additional network connection, electronic component, and software-driven system.

Common vulnerabilities include: hijacking electronic control units (ECU) to disrupt braking, steering, and engine operation; Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication vulnerabilities; and over-exposure of personal data (shared with OEMs, rental companies, car manufacturer, etc.).

“Experts estimate that within the next eight to 10 years there will be a large-scale quantum computer capable of breaking today’s public key cryptography, so it’s imperative that automakers build security principles in today that will guard against these sorts of attacks,” they warn.

“A modern connected vehicle contains well over 100 million lines of code and some of the most complex software ever deployed by automakers. As the software in a car grows so does the attack surface, which makes it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.”

“We firmly believe that security cannot be an afterthought. For automakers and the entire automotive supply chain, security should be inherent in the entire product lifecycle. We are pleased to see a renewed focus on cybersecurity following the release of the UNECE’s WP.29 automotive cybersecurity regulations in 2020,” the team adds.

Creating Actionable Insight for OEMs

With the automotive industry transforming at high-speed, there’s an increasing demand for safety-certified and highly-secure software for next-generation vehicles.

BlackBerry offers a range of products designed for this challenge. The QNX OS and Hypervisor, which many automakers use to power their vehicle control systems, are equipped with security features such as mandatory access control mechanisms, crypto support and secure filesystems.

BlackBerry Jarvis also offers automakers the ability to uncover security insights in software coming from their complex supply chains, without the need to access source code.

“Together with our customers we will help to ensure that the future of mobility is safe, secure and built on trust,” the team tells us.

“As the auto industry evolves from connected to autonomous driving, the electronic architecture of the car is moving from a large number of fixed-function ECUs to a few high-performance domain controllers enabled by increasingly complex software. We are the operating system of choice, trusted in more than 175 million vehicles on the road today and work with all of the top 9 automakers and a wide breadth of Tier Ones and silicon vendors.”

Another innovation is the BlackBerry IVY – or Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform – that it developed alongside Amazon Web Services (AWS). IVY is a cloud-connected software platform that allows automakers to to read vehicle sensor data and create actionable insights from that data both locally in the vehicle and in the cloud.

Automakers can use this information to create responsive in-vehicle services that enhance driver and passenger experiences as well as provide valuable insights back to the manufacturer.

“IVY is built upon BlackBerry QNX’s capabilities for surfacing and normalizing data from automobiles and AWS’s broad portfolio of services, including capabilities for IoT and machine learning. IVY also includes a cloud console and cloud-based API to remotely deploy and update code and machine-learning models and to configure local data access for software and applications,” explains the team.

Safety Certified

It’s not just OEMS that are using BlackBerry’s technology. Canada’s Damon Motorcycles’ CoPilot advanced warning system is powered by BlackBerry QNX technology across its entire line-up of advanced electric motorcycles.  

CoPilot uses radar, cameras and non-visual sensors to track the speed, direction and velocity of moving objects around the motorcycle.

“We’re on a mission to unleash the full potential of personal mobility for the world’s commuters,” said Jay Giraud, Chief Executive Officer of Damon Motorcycles, at CES 2020.

“To address this, we spent the last three years developing an AI-powered, fully connected, e-motorcycle platform that incorporates CoPilot, our proprietary 360º warning system. By building it on BlackBerry’s best-in-class technology that is safety certified, Damon motorcycles will be the safest, most advanced electric motorcycle in the market,” adds Giraud.

With cybersecurity, we have the chance to correct the mistakes we made with the internet.

Today, electric vehicles make up 1 per cent of total new car sales in the U.S. Europe is way ahead, with Norway leading the way at 49 per cent. In nine years, BlackBerry is expecting places like Norway to be somewhere in the 90s, and the U.S. to look a lot more like Norway. 

With that in mind, we asked the BlackBerry team members for their thoughts on what the future will look like.

“The world of mobility is going to grow more sophisticated. Applications for seamless multi-modal transportation and shared mobility will get better, single payment systems, controlled vehicle platooning, and limited Level IV driving should all become common feature of the urban landscape. We can also see a world where the life of the car lasts longer, features and adaptations will be updates and new applications, rather than model changes year after year,” the team explains.

“We will see advances in Level IV self-driving and new business models that will come with that. Industries like trucking and package delivery will also be revolutionized as the car becomes more like a computer. To do this there will have to be a software platform that is ubiquitous across makes, models, and other IoT devices that allows for a simpler way to innovate and get those innovations to market. It will also have to be supported by an ecosystem of incredible developers. That’s the direction for BlackBerry IVY.

“There is a darker side to this connectivity as well. With cybersecurity, we have the chance to correct the mistakes we made with the internet, and design platforms to be secure from the design phase on. Cybersecurity in mobility will continue to grow, in fact it will most likely keep pace with the growth of EVs.”

“The automotive cyber market is expected to grow by more than 17 per cent annually, reaching $10.9B by 2030. If you are a city, an automaker, or a transportation provider and you’re not thinking about security, you’re already behind the power curve and it’s time to do something about it,” concludes the team.