Trillium aims to shield your high-tech cars against cyber attacks

Trillium aims to shield your high-tech car against cyber attacksautomotive cybersecurity firm aims to shield high-tech car against cyber attacks.

There is a growing need for automotive cyber security as cars these days are basically computers with wheels do you’ll probably want to make a few changes to protect against cyber threats.

Trillium, presented at the Disrupt Berlin’s Startup Battlefield stage, where they said they wanted to be the security solution for in-car computer systems, adding extra encryption, intrusion detection and other firewall-like features for vehicles.

It has already been demonstrated that cars can be easily hacked while on the road. Trillium’s Adrian Sossna said:

“Hacked cars pose a far greater danger than hacked desktop consumers,”

“The possible damage that a rogue hacked car can make is vast. It’s already happening, and I am concerned that we will see large hacks in the next 12 months.”

Trillium aims to be a one-stop shop for automotive cyber protection. First, the system will encrypt all in-car transmissions; this prevents a security soft spot like a backseat media screen or Wi-Fi hotspot from becoming a backdoor into more critical systems.

Secondly, the Trillium security will watch over the car’s networks for unusual activity that could indicate an intrusion attempt.

This type of security isn’t something you just plug in and install on any old car. You can’t actually fiddle with your car’s internals to that extent — it would be a serious safety hazard if anyone could tweak their car’s engine control unit at will. Instead, it would be built into cars at the model level based on the needs of certain markets. Sossna went on to say:

“Trillium’s solution is built to be embedded into the car when it rolls out of the factory,”

“Our future end-customer is a fleet owner that needs to protect its employees, cargo and society at large from car hacks.”

So imagine you’re a cab company and you’re going to lease 20 new Priuses (Prii?) to add to your fleet. Looking at the models available, you see some have bigger wheels, some have leather trim, and so on — and some will have Trillium built in.

When you consider it, a bad hack could do irreparable damage to your business, you’ll probably want that last option. And eventually, Trillium’s founders theorize, insurance could require this sort of thing, at which point it ceases being an option and becomes a standard safety feature.

The pricing model is simple: $10 per car per month, not per day, paid by fleet owners and not the drivers or manufacturers — think ambulance and limo companies, metro authorities, and so on. That way it’s a continuing service that justifies itself with frequent updates.

Car and in-car systems makers are already working on their own proprietary security measures, but Trillium plans to improve on those capabilities — while also working as a turnkey solution that can easily be adapted to nearly any model. Currently, the company is working on its final product with OEM, insurance, and Tier 1 supplier partners in Japan.

The Trillium automotive cyber security system can easily be adapted for a new model or deployed across multiple vehicle classes that might not share their network components. It works because their software acts more as a transport layer, not digging deep into the applications and data themselves but just moderating their communications.

Cybersecurity in the automotive world is almost certain to become a major market, but it remains to be seen if there’s room for an ambitious startup solution like Trillium’s.

Author

Justin Kavanagh
Justin Kavanagh is a recognised leader in automotive intelligence and vehicle data supply to the entire motor industry. He has almost 20 years experience in building systems from the ground up. As the Managing Director of Vehicle Management System, he understands the need and importance of trustworthy and reliable vehicle history and advice to both the trade and the public.
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