5 startups chosen to secure UK's connected truck networks

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Innovation company Plexal has unveiled the five startups that have been chosen to aid the UK government's Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) to protect the network of connected trucks and to advance public safety.

The project is being funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and will be delivered by Zenzic, the body set up by the UK government with the aim of moving vehicles in the UK towards a connected future.

CCAV, Zenzic and Plexal have identified cybersecurity as a major challenge for next-generation platooning technologies. 

Read more: Are British roads capable of catering to autonomous vehicles?

Platooning is an emerging practice in transportation that has the potential to solve several problems facing the sector. A platoon is a group of vehicles, with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, that travel closely behind one another such that the platoon can accelerate, brake and cruise together.

The practice could reduce emissions and deliver operating efficiencies that bring down transport costs. But as data is transferred within the infrastructure and between vehicles, it could become vulnerable to cyber attacks or breaches.  

Vehicle connectivity presents a new set of unique challenges. Due to the speed that the vehicles travel, authentication needs to happen quickly. 

Also, vehicles have a lifespan of around ten years, so today's encryption won't be sufficient. This means vehicles produced today may have essentially zero encryption.  

There is also a complex set of standards and legal and regulatory frameworks to navigate.

Five startups have been chosen to work on the project.

  • CyberHive: a startup that is on a mission to make data breaches history and secure the UK’s critical national infrastructure from attacks now and in the post-quantum future. Its Connect solution uses an efficient architecture framework and novel cryptography techniques to provide extremely low-latency, peer-to-peer connectivity on even low-power, embedded devices. It employs encryption algorithms that are designed to be resistant to attacks by quantum computers.    
  • Crypto Quantique: a startup that is building the most secure end-to-end IoT security platform. Its Q:Architecture is a scalable architecture for quickly and securely connecting IoT devices, including Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, to applications and services.  
  • SwIDch: the startup plans to use its patented One-Time Authentication Code technology to resolve security issues related to connected vehicle security. The codes are unique and can’t be duplicated, which makes them more secure than the static and plain text commands currently used in most Vehicle to Vehicle or Vehicle to Infrastructure communications and authentication.   
  • KETS Quantum Security: the startup protects data and secures communications networks using ultra-secure quantum technology. Its Quantum Key Distribution and Quantum Random Number Generator hardware enables secret and secure keys to be sent without the risk that they’ll be intercepted.   
  • ANGOKA: the IoT security company protects machine-to-machine communications in Smart City and mobility scenarios, as well as protecting the identity of devices. It’s able to create trusted connections – even on untrustworthy networks.  

The startups will participate in three testing phases:

  • Unit tests: individual components against challenge scenarios.  
  • Integration tests: groups of components together to ensure they can integrate.  
  • Simulated system tests: simulated testing of the system as a whole to ensure it meets requirements.  

Saj Huq, Director of Innovation at Plexal, said: "Connected trucks and vehicles represent the future of road transport and platooning specifically can unlock benefits society needs, including reducing emissions. But we must build security intrinsically into the infrastructure underpinning connected transport to protect data – along with the vehicles themselves – from potential cyber-physical threats."

Read more: The vehicles of the future - what's making change possible?

Mark Cracknell, Head of CAM at Zenzic, said: "The future of connected vehicles can bring great benefit, but must be delivered securely. When we bring increasing vehicle autonomy it becomes all the more critical.  The UK has a deep history of cyber resilience capability and today’s SMEs are at the forefront of ensuring that connected and self-driving vehicles are safe, secure and fit for purpose."

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