How can it be ensured that police and emergency services vehicles are secure against cyber attacks? In the project Hardening of emergency vehicles to protect against cyber attacks (HECA), funded by the Hessian Ministry of the Interior and Sport, researchers at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences are investigating attack possibilities and suitable hardening measures that are specially adapted to emergency vehicles.

Modern vehicles are computers on wheels that process considerable amounts of data and communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure components or internet systems. However, this also opens up new opportunities for attacks. Successful attacks are particularly critical for police and emergency services vehicles. For example, if an attacker can access the camera systems installed in a patrol car, they could monitor police deployment planning. If an attacker has access to driving functions, they can prevent emergency journeys or, in the worst case, cause accidents.

The aim of this project is to protect emergency vehicles against cyber attacks in order to ensure the integrity and availability of their functions. The project involves developing a methodology for analysing emergency vehicles using IT forensics and penetration testing methods, identifying points of attack and developing and implementing measures to harden the vehicles. The methods and measures developed are to be evaluated in practice on police vehicles.

The project is being carried out with the support of the Hessian police (Hessian State Office of Criminal Investigation, Hessian Police Headquarters for Technology). It is funded by the Hessian Ministry of the Interior and Sport as part of the funding guideline for cyber security research in Hesse over a period of two years.