Panasonic and Trend Micro Agree to Develop Cyber Security Solution for Connected Cars

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - February 14, 2018 - Panasonic Corporation and Trend Micro Incorporated, today announced a partnership to jointly develop cyber security solution to detect and prevent cyber-attacks against autonomous and connected cars.

The partnership aims to achieve high security of autonomous and connected cars by developing solution to detect and prevent intrusions into Electronic Control Units (ECUs)*¹ that control driving behavior such as acceleration, steering and braking, as well as in-vehicle infotainment (IVI*²) devices including automotive navigation systems, and telematics*³ devices.

The risks of hackers taking control of steering and braking systems in connected cars are real. New security vulnerabilities are discovered every day and they pose a risk for remote exploitation. It is therefore more important than ever to not only implement security measures in each vehicle but also to analyze new attacks by constantly monitoring in-vehicle systems from the cloud and utilize the results to implement countermeasures against cyber-attacks to all vehicles.

This partnership will leverage Panasonic's Control Area Network (CAN) intrusion detection and prevention technology*⁴ and Trend Micro IoT Security. Panasonic's technology will be able to detect any unauthorized commands sent to ECUs that control driving operation, while Trend Micro IoT Security^*5, which utilizes Trend Micro's global security intelligence and expertise such as malware*⁶ analysis, will be implemented on IVI devices such as automotive navigation systems to detect attacks that seek to exploit vulnerabilities through the internet. Through this partnership, events identified by both technologies will be collected and sent to an analysis platform in the cloud to detect and block suspicious traffic.

The overall development will enable the provision of solution including in-vehicle and cloud systems to prevent cyber-attacks against autonomous and connected cars. Panasonic and Trend Micro will be working jointly on the development and aim to launch commercially after 2020.

■ Architecture to be jointly developed

*1 Electronic Control Unit: Computers that control actuators such as engine or steering

*2 In-vehicle infotainment: Entertainment and information applications available in vehicles

*3 Telematics: A service that sends/receives information to/from vehicles

*4 CAN intrusion detection and prevention technology: Technology that monitors CAN (Control Area Network), which allows communications between ECUs, to detect unauthorized commands and processes them as invalid commands

*5 Trend Micro IoT Security: A security solution for embedded devices connecting outside the vehicle with IP communications on general purpose operating systems such as Linux

*6 Malware: A general term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile software or malicious code created to cause damage or harm, including computer viruses

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018, the company has expanded globally and now operates 495 subsidiaries and 91 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.343 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2017. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers. To learn more about Panasonic: http://www.panasonic.com/global.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.