Real Time Cybersecurity Systems for Safety Critical Military Vehicle Applications

RT&L FOCUS AREA(S): Cybersecurity TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Information Systems The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: Research and development of hardware and/or software capable of real-time cybersecurity detection and protection of vehicle networks with no delay, degradation, false positives, impacts on systems and network resources. DESCRIPTION: Cybersecurity of the Army's ground systems is a critical priority to national defense in the 21st century. Recent events have shown that vehicles are vulnerable to attack and subversion through various modes which at times can be malicious in intent. The current solutions present loads and latency upon taxed vehicular systems and networks. Cyber systems such as Intrusion Detection/Prevention System (IDS/IPS) can detect and/or prevent malicious communications, but generally require resources on systems, sensors, computing and network resources, degrading those capabilities. GVSC would like to see a solution that can provide real-time cybersecurity detection and protection capabilities for real-time systems and networks on vehicles, primarily on their vehicular safety systems with no delay, no degradation, no false positives, and no impacts on systems, sensors, computing and network resources. PHASE I: In the first phase, the contractor shall demonstrate the feasibility and capability of a real-time cybersecurity detection and protection system, using hardware and/or software that enables Intrusion Detection and Prevention of cyber events. The real-time cybersecurity detection and protection capabilities must NOT impact NOR delay NOR degrade NOR create false positives on the systems, sensors, computing and network resources of safety-critical vehicular systems. PHASE II: In the second phase, the contractor shall demonstrate on real vehicle networks such as Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1939 (Controller Area Network, CAN, protocol variant used in most military trucks), Military Standard 1553 (MIL-STD-1553), and/or Automotive Ethernet, using actual physical vehicle controllers. The contractor shall demonstrate the operation of the technology in a live vehicle or systems integration lab (SIL) environment. The demonstration shall include an ECU and at least one safety controller. The contractor shall validate the effectiveness of the technology by showing that none of the systems, sensors, computing, and network resources are impacted at all with the timing, resources, latency, loads, concurrency, and prioritization. The systems shall be demonstrated and verified by a 3rd party that their cybersecurity solution does NOT impact NOR delay NOR degrade NOR create false positives on the systems, sensors, computing and network resources of safety-critical vehicular systems. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: In the third phase, the contractor shall package the technology to be retrofit into an existing vehicle system. The contractor shall collaborate with a vehicle original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to demonstrate their technology during normal vehicle operations on a test track. The contractor shall demonstrate the same validations shown in Phase II. REFERENCES: United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). (2020). ITS Strategic Plan 2020-2025, retrieved from https://www.its.dot.gov/stratplan2020/ITSJPO_StrategicPlan_2020-2025.pdf & https://www.its.dot.gov/factsheets/cybersecurity.htm United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). (2020). ITS Strategic Plan 2020-2025, retrieved from https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/vehicle_cybersecurity_best_practices_01072021.pdf United States Department of Energy (USDOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2019). Vehicle Cybersecurity Threats and Mitigation Approaches, retrieved from https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/74247.pdf United States Department of Homeland Security (USDHS), Science and Technology. (n.d.). Cyber Physical Systems Security (CPSSEC), retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/cpssec National Security Agency (NSA), Central Security Service (CSS). (2015). Active Cyber Defense (ACD) Enabling the Real-Time Defense of Critical Networks, retrieved from https://apps.nsa.gov/iad/programs/iad-initiatives/active-cyber-defense.cfm KEYWORDS: Vehicle Networks, CAN, ECU, Cybersecurity, Intrusion Detection/Prevention System, Threat, Protection, Decentralization, Security, Fault Tolerance, Resiliency, Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Graphic Processing Units (GPU), parallel & concurrent computing, redundant, real-time, mitigation