HackCar: a test platform for attacks and defenses on a cost-contained automotive architecture

TL;DR

HackCar is a modular, cost-effective testing platform that simulates automotive attacks and defenses, enabling security research without needing a full vehicle.

Contribution

The paper introduces HackCar, a novel, modular test platform for automotive security research that replicates vehicle attacks without requiring a complete vehicle.

Findings

HackCar effectively simulates attack scenarios on automotive communication protocols.

The platform allows testing of security measures in a controlled, realistic environment.

Comparison with real vehicles validates HackCar's realism and utility.

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce the design of HackCar, a testing platform for replicating attacks and defenses on a generic automotive system without requiring access to a complete vehicle. This platform empowers security researchers to illustrate the consequences of attacks targeting an automotive system on a realistic platform, facilitating the development and testing of security countermeasures against both existing and novel attacks. The HackCar platform is built upon an F1-10th model, to which various automotive-grade microcontrollers are connected through automotive communication protocols. This solution is crafted to be entirely modular, allowing for the creation of diverse test scenarios. Researchers and practitioners can thus develop innovative security solutions while adhering to the constraints of automotive-grade microcontrollers. We showcase our design by comparing it with a real, licensed, and unmodified vehicle. Additionally, we analyze the behavior of the HackCar in both an attack-free scenario and a scenario where an attack on in-vehicle communication is deployed.