Public Relations

Asgent to Start Providing Automobile Authentication Solution "SafeCAN"
- Providing in-vehicle network security with no overhead -

December 13, 2017
Asgent, Inc.
（JASDAQ: 4288）

Asgent, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4288, President & CEO: Takahiro Sugimoto, located in Chuo-ku, Tokyo), a pioneer in network security and operations management solutions, announces the start of provisioning for "SafeCAN" from Karamba Security (CEO & Co-founder: Ami Dotan, located in Israel), an automotive authentication solution to provide security and in-vehicle network authentication without any overhead.

[Background]
  Currently, many enterprises including automobile manufacturers are involved with development of self-driving vehicles. Security measures are essential for self-driving mechanisms that don´t require any human intervention, and many companies are evaluating and providing countermeasures to prevent illegal access over the internet. At the same time, it is also necessary to provide security and authentication for in-vehicle communications in order to protect the automobile from physical hacking or illegal transmissions from unpermitted ECUs (Electronic Control Units). However, because the in-vehicle network, and the CAN Bus^*1 in particular is already saturated, there is no leeway for processing authentication data that consumes network throughput. Therefore, in-vehicle authentication is lacking, leaving the automobile vulnerable to physical hacking etc.
  Also, because authentication is lacking in software updates using OTA^*2, it has not been possible to prevent attackers from hacking and spoofing OTA updates to install malicious software on the ECU as an OTA update.

[SafeCAN]
  Karamba´s "SafeCAN" is an end-to-end automotive authentication solution designed to provide in-vehicle network authentication. Because there is no network overhead, it is possible to authenticate CAN Bus communications without overloading. As a result, the ECU ignores control commands sent from an unauthenticated source, and only accepts authenticated control commands. Also, as the ECU will not accept changes not authenticated by "SafeCAN", it is possible to safely perform OTA updates.

In addition, by using the SafeCAN solution together with Karamba´s Carwall^*3, it is not only possible to provide secure in-vehicle communication and authenticated OTA updates, but also to protect the ECU itself from in-memory cyber-attacks etc.

Karamba CEO & Co-founder, Ami Dotan, made the following comment regarding "SafeCAN".
"We listened to our OEM customers, and innovated to meet the challenges they identified with the unsolved problem of in-car communication security. Car manufacturers are concerned with physical hacks as well as the use of OTA technology to get secure cloud-to-vehicle communications, but their security ends at the entrance to the car. We cover the last yard, communication to and from safety ECUs, to make sure only legitimate messages from any entry point are accepted throughout the car network, and that safety will not be compromised."
  Also, Roger Lanctot, the Director of the Automotive Connected Mobility division at Strategy Analytics, commented that "Karamba Security´s SafeCAN addresses the industry´s need to authenticate in-vehicle communication, to protect safety systems against hacks, and to ensure that OTA updates are not used to deploy malware on target ECUs".

Auto-ISAC (Automotive Information and Sharing Analysis Center) is a global information sharing community for vehicle cyber-security risks, and was founded by major car manufacturers in August 2015. Auto-ISAC functions as a hub for sharing, tracking and analyzing incident information related to connected cars, cyber-threats and vulnerabilities. Currently, Auto-ISAC Members account for more than 99 percent of light-duty vehicles in North America, with over 30 global OEM and supplier members. Building upon the success of this collaboration, Auto-ISAC recently expanded membership to heavy trucking OEMs and their suppliers, as well as the commercial vehicle sector - including fleets and carriers.

[Karamba Security]

Karamba Security provides industry-leading cybersecurity solutions for connected and autonomous vehicles. It´s SafeCAN and Carwall software provide end-to-end in-vehicle security by authenticating communications, including OTA updates, with zero network overhead and by hardening the car´s safety ECUs from attempts to manipulate or compromise their commands and hack into the car. Together, the products prevent cyberattacks with zero false positives, no connectivity requirements and negligible performance impact. The company has been recognized in 2017 with TU-Automotive´s Best Cybersecurity Product/Service and the North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Automotive New Product Innovation.

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