Enhanced Android App-Repackaging Attack on In-Vehicle Network

Abstract

The convergence of automobiles and ICT (information and communication technology) has become a new paradigm for the development of next-generation vehicles. In particular, connected cars represent the most in-demand automobile-ICT convergence technology. With the development of 5G technology, communication between vehicle and external device using autonomous driving and Internet of things (IoT) technology has been remarkably developed. Control of vehicles using smart phones has become a routine feature, and over 200 Android apps are in use. However, Android apps are easy to tamper by repackaging and allowing hackers to attack vehicles with using this vulnerability, which can lead to life-critical accidents. In this study, we analyze the vulnerabilities of connected car environments when connecting with IoT technologies and demonstrate the possibility of cyberattack by performing attack experiments using real cars and repackaging for commercial apps. Furthermore, we propose a realistic security technology as a countermeasure to attain safety against cyberattacks. To evaluate the safety of the proposed method, a security module is developed and a performance evaluation is conducted on an actual vehicle.