The degree to which control units in vehicles are networked is increasing. Along with the possibility to update software releases in the field, this enables a rapidly growing number of vehicle functions to be implemented on the basis of software. As an automobile manufacturer or supplier, you can benefit from this trend as it offers new potential for software-based revenue. On the other hand, this trend incurs the risk of loss due to manipulation, unauthorised usage of the software as well as liability issues.

Appropriate security measures and precautions have to be implemented to manage the risks resulting from this trend, to protect the copyrights, to protect the software from unauthorised manipulation and to comply with pertinent legislation (such as export restrictions).

Controlled and safe activation of vehicle functions serves as the technical basis for this. This, in turn, is based on the concept of software individualisation, i.e. secure binding of the software to a unique instance (such as the driver, the vehicle or the vehicle key) and/or other parameters such as mileage, date/time.

In addition to offering software-based revenue models, secure activation of individual software functions after the installation of the control units also lets you reduce the number of variants of the installed hardware as well as optimise the costs for the software licenses by determining the fees on the basis of the licenses actually activated and used.

In this area, secunet supports you in designing and implementing measures for secure activation of software functions and in determining suitable individualisation features. With our extensive background in the field of function enabling and our contributions to the standardisation of the required technologies, we can develop perfectly tuned solutions which meet the requirements of the automotive industry.

Overview of our services:

• Support in developing business models based on function enabling
• Elaboration of the required concepts for:
  - Definition of the security infrastructure under consideration of the following areas:
    development, production, repair shop, diagnostics, parts logistics, purchasing,
    ordering, billing and IT
  - Definition of the processes for requesting/providing the activation information and for
    enabling at the control unit for the following areas: development, factory, service
    under consideration of the existing tool chain
  - Definition of the function enabling procedure in the vehicle control units
• Providing the tool chain for function enabling (server solution and tools for production line and service places/repair shops) to create and apply the activation code
• Creation of the required security infrastructure
• Support of manufacturers of automobiles and control units in the following areas: function tests, error management, commissioning of control units with activation functionality