Integrating cybersecurity concerns in automotive safety validation: a systematic approach

Automated vehicles (AV) are characterized by intelligent functions (many developed using AI-based solutions), autonomy, and high connectivity with the external environment. The high connectivity of AV opens relevant cybersecurity issues due to many potential attack surfaces. Cybersecurity attacks' effects on AV may also determine severe risks in terms of functional safety due to vehicles' high automation and autonomy. Safety validation of AV cannot be disjoint from the analysis and treatment of cybersecurity concerns. In this paper, we define a methodology called Combined Safety and Cybersecurity Validation (CSCV) aimed at strengthening, in a systematic manner, safety validation of AI-based functions of AV by addressing cybersecurity concerns. The CSCV methodology focuses on the emerging scenario-based approach for testing AI-based vehicle functions and is based on creating variants of the scenarios used for functional safety testing. The variants are derived from the original scenarios modified by the effects of highly risky cyberattacks that can occur during the scenario execution.