Technology

Scientists Find Vehicles Susceptible to Remote Cyberattacks in Award-Winning Paper

dgivens8 — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:37:41 +0000

Scientists Find Vehicles Susceptible to Remote Cyberattacks in Award-Winning Paper dgivens8 Mon, 12/02/2024 - 15:37

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered new vulnerabilities that could provide criminals with wireless access to the computer systems in automobiles, aircraft, factories, and other cyber-physical systems.

The computers used in vehicles and other cyber-physical systems rely on a specialized internal network to communicate commands between electronics. Because it took place internally, it was traditionally assumed that attackers could only influence this network through physical access.

In collaboration with Hyundai, researchers from Georgia Tech’s Cyber-Physical Systems Security Research Lab (CPSec) observed that threat models used to evaluate the security of these technologies were outdated.

The team, led by Ph.D. student Zhaozhou Tang, found that vehicle technology advancements allowed attackers to launch new attacks, improve existing attacks, and circumvent current defense systems.

For example, Tang’s findings included the possibility for attackers to remotely compromise the computers used in cars and aircraft through Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and other wireless channels.

“Our job was to thoroughly review existing information and find ways to protect against these attacks,” he said. “We found new threats and proposed a defense system that can protect against the new and old attacks.”

In response to their findings, the team developed ERACAN, the first comprehensive defense system against this new generation of attackers. Designed to detect new and old attacks, ERACAN can deploy defenses when necessary.

The system also classifies the attacks it reacts to, providing security experts with the tools for detailed analysis. It has a detection rate of 100% for all attacks launched by conventional methods and detects enhanced threat models 99.7% of the time.

The project received a distinguished paper award at the 2024 ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 24) held in Salt Lake City. Tang presented the paper at the October conference.

“This was Zhaozhou’s first paper in his Ph.D. program, and he deserves recognition for his groundbreaking work on automotive cybersecurity,” said Saman Zonouz, associate professor in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated the transportation sector as one of the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors. Ensuring its security is vital to national security and public safety.

“Modern vehicles, which rely heavily on controller area networks for essential operations, are integral components of this infrastructure,” said Zonouz. “With the increasing sophistication of cyberthreats, safeguarding these systems has become critical to ensuring the resilience and security of transportation networks.”

This paper introduced to the scientific community the first comprehensive defense system to address advanced threats targeting vehicular controller area networks.

The CPSec team is putting the technology it has developed into practice in collaboration with Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc., which sponsors the work. Tang hopes ERACAN’s success will raise awareness of these new threats in the research community and industry.

“It will help them build future defenses,” he said. “We have demonstrated the best practice to defend against these attacks.”

Tang received his bachelor’s degree at Georgia Tech, where he first performed security-related work for the automobile industry. While working with Zonouz on his master’s degree, he decided to change course and pursue research initiatives like vehicle security in a Ph.D. program.

“It is interesting how it came full circle,” he said. “I will continue on this path of automobile security throughout my Ph.D.”

ERACAN: Defending Against an Emerging CAN Threat Model, was written by Zhaozhou Tang, Khaled Serag from the Qatar Computing Research Institute, Saman Zonouz, Berkay Celik and Dongyan Xu from Purdue University, and Raheem Beyah, professor and dean of the College of Engineering. The CPSec Lab is a collaboration between the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech researchers, with Hyundai, uncovered wireless vulnerabilities in vehicles' internal networks.

Summary

Georgia Tech researchers, with Hyundai, uncovered wireless vulnerabilities in vehicles' internal networks. They developed ERACAN, a defense system with near-perfect attack detection, addressing new and old threats. The project, recognized at CCS 2024, highlights the urgent need to secure critical transportation systems.

Dateline

Mon, 11/25/2024 - 12:00

jpopham3@gatech.edu

Contact

John Popham

Communications Officer II

School of Cybersecurity and Privacy

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College of Engineering; School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; College of Computing

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Tech Alumni to Appear on ‘Shark Tank’

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 16:42:38 +0000

Tech Alumni to Appear on ‘Shark Tank’ admin Thu, 01/12/2023 - 11:42

A few years ago, Braxton Davis, an avid gym enthusiast since college, started thinking about how he could track his strength training workouts every day more effectively than with a smartwatch or fitness tracker. He was looking for a seamless way to capture detailed workout data without having to write it down, which is how Metric Mate was born.

Metric Mate makes devices that, when coupled to pin-based and plate-loaded exercise equipment, send data to mobile phones, turning strength training equipment into smart equipment and allowing users to automatically count reps and sets while also tracking caloric burn, force exertion, muscular fatigue, and rep tempo. In addition, it gives healthcare workers the ability to monitor fitness in patients.

Davis, along with Ecleamus Ricks and their business partner, M.T. Strickland, have been working on Metric Mate ever since 2019. And this week, they will be showcasing their patented Training Accountability Partner (TAP) device and Metric Mate mobile app on the popular television show Shark Tank.

Both Davis and Ricks earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering through the dual degree program at Georgia Tech and Morehouse College. After graduating, Davis went on to get his law degree from Georgia State University with a focus on intellectual property. Ricks moved to Texas to work for National Instruments and earn his master’s in software engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Within the Metric Mate team, Davis focuses mainly on strategy, intellectual property, and legal. Ricks works on all things technology, and Strickland, the CEO, is responsible for marketing and driving revenue.

“Handling the hardware and understanding it is one of the benefits of Georgia Tech that we now have — the ability to draw on those things you learned in college to create something new,” Ricks says.

Next, they will be exploring ways for their patented technology to help with physical therapy, and they are always working on new features and improving the accuracy of the platform.

See Metric Mate featured Friday, Jan. 13, on ABC’s Shark Tank.

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech alumni Braxton Davis and Ecleamus Ricks pitch their patented technology, Metric Mate, on ABC's Shark Tank.

Summary

Davis and Ecleamus Ricks met as students in the dual degree engineering program at Georgia Tech and Morehouse College. The electrical engineering alumni will pitch their patented technology, Metric Mate, on Shark Tank. Metric Mate turns strength training equipment into smart equipment, allowing users to automatically capture detailed workout data.

Dateline

Thu, 01/12/2023 - 12:00

eatkinson6@gatech.edu

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Evan Atkinson, Institute Social Media Officer

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Atlanta, GA

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Technology

shark tank

Electrical

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engineering

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664666

Source updated

Thu, 01/12/2023 - 09:06

Georgia Tech to Help Expand Research at Historically Black Colleges  and Universities

bwaye3 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 14:50:18 +0000

Georgia Tech to Help Expand Research at Historically Black Colleges  and Universities bwaye3 Tue, 07/19/2022 - 10:50

Georgia Tech’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) was recently awarded a $995,550 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enable network and research enhancements for nearby historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).  

The NSF grant will fund at 100 percent a two-year project titled Promoting Research and Education at Small Colleges in the Atlanta University Center and at Tuskegee University Through Network Architecture Enhancements. Through this project, Georgia Tech, in collaboration with Southern Crossroads (SoX), will extend advanced networking services and cyberinfrastructure access to Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College, and Tuskegee University. The project includes a robust training and support program to ensure proper adoption and success for researchers and educators at participating institutions. The Atlanta University Consortium (AUC) Woodruff Library will benefit from network upgrades through the grant as well.

Cas D’Angelo, OIT associate vice president and chief operating officer, serves as principal investigator for the project. He also serves as president of SoX, a Georgia Tech affiliate organization that serves nonprofit education, research, and government entities with cyberinfrastructure and global high-performance connectivity. 

“We started preparing a compelling proposal package that would demonstrate the need and value to the research community in early 2021,” said D’Angelo. “For years, we have been working to get institutions within the AUC — the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African American higher education institutions in the U.S. — connected to the SoX regional network, given their proximity. This project provides us with that opportunity.”  

This project will also lay the groundwork for expansion to other HBCUs.

The NSF has solicited proposals to support traditionally underserved institutions of higher education through partnerships with regional entities that have experience in high-performance research and education networking like Georgia Tech. Special emphasis has been placed on HBCUs, tribal colleges and universities, and other traditionally minority-serving institutions.   

To learn more, visit sox.net.

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech’s Office of Information Technology was recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to enable network and research enhancements for nearby historically black colleges and universities.

Summary

Dateline

Wed, 07/13/2022 - 12:00

courtney.hill@gatech.edu

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Atlanta, GA

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minority

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cyberinfrastructure

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Technology

Scientists Find Vehicles Susceptible to Remote Cyberattacks in Award-Winning Paper

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Tech Alumni to Appear on ‘Shark Tank’

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Georgia Tech to Help Expand Research at Historically Black Colleges  and Universities

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Technology

Scientists Find Vehicles Susceptible to Remote Cyberattacks in Award-Winning Paper

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Tech Alumni to Appear on ‘Shark Tank’

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Georgia Tech to Help Expand Research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

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Georgia Tech to Help Expand Research at Historically Black Colleges  and Universities