Projects:2021s1-13003 Car Hacking

Abstract

The Event Data Recorder (EDR) is a sub-module of the Airbag Control Module (ACM) used in modern day vehicles. The ACM is constantly monitoring the vehicles status and if it believes a crash has occurred, will deploy the manufacturer specific safety response and stored the crash data in the EDR[1]. It is the data in the EDR that has guided the direction of our group. It has created our main objective to be: to what extent can the data stored in an EDR be trusted after a deployment level crash. This led to the following lower-level objectives:

• How is the data stored and secured and is the data accurate? (John Vlass)
• Can we change what EDR data is recorded? (Amirsalar Aryakia)
• Can we change what EDR data is read? (William Circelli)

The major tasks we plan to complete are ACM chip level analysis, Firmware extraction, debugging tools to extract data and investigate the forensic applications and implications this project revolves around.

Introduction

Over the past 30 years, the motor vehicle has evolved in a direction greatly driven by the safety and security of its passengers (RAC). As these systems evolve, they become more deeply embedded within the vehicle and are considered to be more intelligent. On a low level, all electronic modules of a vehicle communicate using the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus which is a multi-master serial bus standard used in automobiles (FTDI). Electronic modules are used for a range of purposes in a car, including controlling engine functions, power steering and cruise control to name a few. The module of interest to our project is the Airbag Control Module (ACM). This module is used to detect and evaluate data from a range of sensors around the vehicle. It can identify a vehicle’s current status and in the event of an accident, deploy a safety response (e.g. airbags, seat belt tensioners etc).

The position of our research is focused on a sub-module of the ACM known as the Event Data Recorder (EDR). The EDR is a data storage tool designed to capture all relevant data that is produced in a motor vehicle crash. The EDR is constantly storing and refreshing data in its memory with data from various motion and crash related sensors around the vehicle [1]. This data consists of information on vehicle speed, status of brakes (ON/OFF), throttle position, seat belt use and etc. This data can then be used to determine crash outcomes. It is used by SAPOL Major Crash for forensic analysis and insurance companies to determine who in the crash is liable. As this data has been used in the past as supporting evidence for crash re-creations, we as a group are interested in the trustworthiness of the information given by the EDR post-crash. More importantly, can this data be manipulated to benefit or relieve an individual of crash liability or even modified to reflect a different sequence of events.

Project team

Project students

• John Vlass
• Amirsalar Aryakia
• William Circelli

Supervisors

• Matthew Sorrell
• Frank Wu (Defence Science and Technology)
• Aaron Frishling (Defence Science and Technology)

Objectives

Group 13003 will explore the possible car hacking of EDR units within a vehicle. The project’s objective is ‘To what extent can the data stored in an Event Data Recorder (EDR) be trusted after a deployment level crash?’. The project plan will break down the main objective into three primary objectives. These objectives will be:

• How is the data stored and secured and is the data accurate?
• Can we change what EDR data is recorded?
• Can we change what EDR data is read?

References

[1] R. Shirley, Airbag Control Modules May Contain Useful Information, 1st ed. p. 1.

[2] C. Pearson, "See how car safety has evolved since the early 1900s | RAC WA", RAC WA - For a better WA, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://rac.com.au/car-motoring/info/future_history-of-car-safety. [Accessed: 01-Apr-2021].

[3] What Is CAN?, 2nd ed. Glasgow: Future Technologies Devices International, 2021, pp. 2-6.

[4] "Air Bags", NHTSA, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/air-bags. [Accessed: 28- Mar- 2021].

[5] R. Toulson and T. Wilmshurt, Fast and effective embedded systems design, 1st ed. Oxford: Newnes, 2012, pp. 273-295.

[6] “Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Assembly”, Hetech. [Online], Available: https://www.hetech.com.au/manufacture/printed-circuit-board-pcb-assembly/. Accessed: 04-Apr-2021].

[7] M. Elsegood, S. Doecke and G. Ponte, "Collection and analysis of EDR data from crash-involved vehicles: 2019-20 summary report", The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 2020.

[8] M. Tabone and M. Farrugia, "Synchronization of Event Data Recorder (EDR) Data to Data from the CAN Bus and LabVIEW", IEEE, 2020.