As cyber attacks have become a daily reality, what many of us don’t fully appreciate is that the Internet is not just one vast interconnection of computers, smartphones, and tablets. Today, a plethora of “things” contain small chips, processors, sensors, and beacons that collect and transmit data analytics, and in some cases, diagnostic information, to a central server. These servers commonly reside in a public or private cloud, and the endpoints from which this data is being collected is becoming known as “Edge Technology” for its ability to invoke bidirectional communications, often vital ones, from the periphery of the Internet’s reach.

These endpoints comprise what now commonly termed the “Internet of Things” (IoT). This means common commodities such as cars, cows, shipping vessels (and their cargo), your dog or cat (through computer chip) are now or will be soon part of the IoT ecosystem. The rest of this article addresses how security can be enabled to protect your automobile (now that it’s literally part of the Internet) from cyber attacks.

This article was originally published on Israel21C.

GuardKnox of Ramla has a Communication Lockdown product that prevents any app, patch or upgrades from making contact with a connected vehicle unless it was specifically sanctioned by the automaker. The device protects vehicles from cyber attacks even when traveling in areas lacking communications signals.

“Suppose an automaker sets the upper range of a particular car’s speed signal at 120 miles per hour. Separately, suppose that the activation of automatic braking requires agreement from two independent sensors. No matter which access points hackers use to try to manipulate the car’s speed or braking protocols, GuardKnox blocks any instructions that are not sanctioned by the car manufacturer,” writes Wanetick.

The Eyes‐On system from Foresight Automotive in Ness Ziona uses stereovision cameras to capture a range of data about objects in the path of the car that pose a potential hazard and warns drivers visually or audibly about these objects.

Foresight has demonstrated in hundreds of tests that at medium distances of 20 to 30 meters, Eyes‐On can determine the distance to the object with an accuracy of 20 to 30 centimeters. The cameras capture between 30 and 45 images per second and achieve near 100% accuracy beginning with the first frame.