Proposal for an Integrated Framework for Electronic Control Unit Design in the Automotive Industry

Abstract

The automotive sector is facing challenges in terms of the requirements for guaranteeing the safety and security of cars. In respect of the engineering process, it is challenging to incorporate functional safety, safety of the intended functionality, and cybersecurity requirements into electrical vehicles. All of these aspects impact not only the vehicles or ECUs produced, but also the structures of the organizations by which the products are created. Based on current standards, drafts of future standards, and an analysis of the performance of a real design process for the ECU of an electrical vehicle, we propose an integrated design framework from the perspective of cybersecurity. Therefore, a stronger emphasis is placed on correct estimations of cybersecurity activity processes. As they affect all areas of development, these estimations cannot be isolated considering the ECU’s design process. More cooperation between various stages of the process is required in order to provide complete products at an early stage of design and development. The challenge is the identification of overlapping activities and the combination of design efforts in order to reduce the time and costs of an engineering project. A dedicated process entity will be proposed to an engineering division to manage cybersecurity processes.