ST, ETAS and ESCRYPT to develop platform for connected-car applications

Today’s auto designers rely more and more on electronic control units (ECUs) to manage intricately featured applications, including brake-by-wire, automatic transmission, multi-mode lighting, parking assist, collision avoidance and many others. These ECUs are enabling “digital” control of each function of the car through sending commands over the communication network that interconnects the vehicle sub-systems. Moreover, more cars are becoming connected to the cloud enabling new functionalities like Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates, remote diagnostics, and the forthcoming V2X communication1. To safely support such trends, there is an acceleration in the deployment of robust hardware and software security platforms that are managed over the entire vehicle lifetime. ST is working with ETAS and ESCRYPT aiming to deliver a cost-effective platform for sub-system developers to create ECUs that ensure a high level of protection for vehicle-owners’ privacy, OEMs’ intellectual property, ECU functional integrity, and secure communication among the car’s ECUs and the cloud. “This well-architected and easy-to-use development platform will deliver unprecedented convenience to customers in the form of a ready-made solution that combines the security know-how of ESCRYPT, ETAS, and ST,” said Luca Rodeschini, Director Strategic Business Development and Microcontroller Business Unit, Automotive and Discrete Product Group, STMicroelectronics. The solution ST is developing with ETAS and ESCRYPT leverages the SPC58 series of power-efficient and real-time-capable automotive microcontrollers, which feature a built-in Hardware Security Module (HSM) as well as multiple CAN FD interfaces, plus LIN, FlexRay, and Ethernet with time-stamping to implement both control units with a functional integrity check and an in-vehicle network with encrypted communication. “SPC58 automotive microcontrollers deliver the underlying ruggedness and hardware security the industry needs at a competitive price. They have already been selected by a major Tier-1 supplier for a secure OTA (Over-The-Air) application that enables remote software fixes and upgrades without requiring customers to bring their vehicles to a repair garage,” added Rodeschini.