An Overview of NHTSA’s Electronics Reliability and Cybersecurity Research Programs

This paper provides an overview of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) research programs in electronic control systems reliability and automotive cybersecurity. The agency’s electronics reliability research covers methods and voluntary standards both inside and outside the automotive industry. The research looks for such standards and methods that assess, identify, and mitigate potential new hazards that may arise from the increasing use of electronics and electronic control systems in the design of modern automobiles. Cybersecurity, within the context of road vehicles, is the protection of vehicular electronic systems, communication networks, control algorithms, software, users, and underlying data from malicious attacks, damage, unauthorized access, or manipulation.