Marquardt has introduced its latest offering, the “Digital Shield” platform, designed to safeguard manufacturers within the automotive sector and beyond from potential cyber threats. This solution serves as a safety net for Marquardt products, providing continual monitoring for potential threats, along with analysis and assessment of potential impacts.
In today’s landscape, modern vehicles across various segments, including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and off-highway vehicles, resemble mobile data centres. Interconnected systems and components offer numerous benefits but also present opportunities for hackers and malware. The longer a product is on the market, the greater the risk of security gaps.
“Unlike product defects, the number of which decreases over time, the risk of cyber threats increases over the years,” explained Oliver Huppenbauer, Global Cybersecurity Manager from Marquardt. “Nobody knows today the threats that will arise for a product in five, ten or fifteen years. With “Digital Shield”, we offer our customers worldwide an adequate solution.”
The frontend monitoring of “Digital Shield” employs a fully automated cloud service, ensuring high reliability. Using a digital twin, it continuously compares all software and hardware components of a Marquardt component with national and international databases for potential threats.
Upon identifying a new threat, Marquardt conducts a risk assessment and devises necessary countermeasures, such as software patching, with comprehensive documentation. By archiving relevant data and source code, Marquardt ensures swift responses to future threats, facilitating updates or further developments years after product launch.
Flexible Safety Net Marquardt offers “Digital Shield” as a service with a flexible duration. Vehicle manufacturers can tailor cybersecurity maintenance according to their needs, providing the necessary flexibility in compliance with future regulatory deadlines.
Future cyber threats are being addressed through the setting of regulations and standards. The Cyber Resilience Act, which was passed by the EU Parliament in 2024, mandates industries to ensure product resilience against cyber threats throughout their lifecycle. Specifically for the automotive sector, the UN/ECE-R 155 regulation standardises international requirements, essential for EU certification and road traffic approval.
The evolving legal landscape underscores the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions worldwide.
Oliver Huppenbauer noted: “The need to be able to react to vulnerabilities and new threat situations will increase, not just in the automotive industry. In the end, the Internet of Things – will connect all devices, from networked toys and smart home products to complex server structures and control units.”
Marquardt, with expertise dating back to the 1990s, actively participates in cybersecurity initiatives, leveraging its experience in developing high-security driving authorisation systems. The culmination of this effort is the “Digital Shield” cybersecurity management system, now available to Marquardt customers after five years of development.
There’s plenty of other editorial on our sister site, Electronic Specifier! Or you can always join in the conversation by commenting below or visiting our LinkedIn page.
