PRJ6001 Applied Project

Assessment 1: Project Brief

Understanding the state of cyber security in the automobile industry: A case study on Volkswagen 

Student Name:

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Project Title 

This report aims to analyse the state of cyber security in the automobile industry by evaluating the case study of Volkswagen. Cyber security in the automobile industry indicates the security in the communication network, data collection and software with the help of the new wave of smart cars and the company’s electronic system (Sun, Yu and Zhang, 2021). Cybersecurity also helps in protecting the automotive electronic system. 

Research Overview and Justification 

In modern days, vehicles are becoming more IoT driven, and the requirement of cyber security is also increasing rapidly with the increasing demand for modern technology and practices (Mishra and Tyagi, 2022). AI aids the automotive cyber-security system that helps get a clear picture of any issues drivers face on the road. Cyber security also helps companies to secure the personal data of the customers and various personal data of the companies. The cyber security concern of Volkswagen is very low, and cybersecurity issues will be found in the organisation in 2021 (CITYA.M., 2022). The managers of Volkswagen play an alarming role in being aware of the managers of Volkswagen. 

The emission testing scandal was also found in Volkswagen, and the company must implement cyber security that helps the company to get a comparative advantage in the industry (CITYA.M., 2022). The justification for choosing the project is the significance of implementing cyber security in large automobile companies like Volkswagen. This report helps use cyber security in the different parts of the business in the automobile companies that make the business more compatible with the modern requirement of the customers. Putting cybersecurity in the front seat of cars helps take better practices towards reducing cyber-attacks and cyber threats that eventually lead to fatalities (Kim and Shrestha, 2020). 

Brief Literature Review

It is specified by Ji et al. (2020) in the B5G or 5G era, and the IOT is transforming gradually and becoming a fully integrated future internet. The demand for smart homes and smart appliances, as well as the demand for intelligent transportation systems, is increasing, and the implementation of the r security helps provide safety and security for customers. The person’s company can also be protected through cybersecurity (Acharya et al., 2020). The increasing data in Volkswagen be protected from unauthorised access. The research aims to use IoT in reducing accidents, and implementing modern technology also helps increase the demand for Volkswagen cars. 

It is highlighted by El-Rewini et al. (2020) that modern vehicles are capable of connecting with the external infrastructure V2X technology plays a vital role in securing communication which also impacts reducing the risk of vehicular communication. Three layers framework is also proposed in this study, i.e., sensing, controlling and communication which is significant in creating environmental sensors and vehicle dynamics. The research objective is to analyse modern vehicles’ capability to connect with the external environment. 

Morris, Madzudzo and Garcia-Perez (2020) highlight the threats in the automotive industry. The main objective of the research is to broadly evaluate the cyber security that helps make the automobile organisation more compatible with the modern demands of the customers. The qualitative method of data analysis is chosen for this research, which helps get a large amount of data regarding the research topic. The data collected from the face-to-face interview indicates the reliability of the data. 

Research Objectives, Research question and Sub-questions 

Objectives

• To analyse the advantages of cyber security in Volkswagen.

• To evaluate the impact of cyber security in manufacturing modern cars that also impact the sales of Volkswagen

• To scrutinise automobile companies’ issues, especially Volkswagen, regarding implementing cyber security.

• To assess the mitigation strategies that automobile companies can take to overcome the issue of cyber security. 

Research questions

• What are the advantages of cyber security at Volkswagen?

• What is the impact of cyber security in manufacturing modern cars that also impact the sales of Volkswagen?

1. What are the positive impacts of cyber security in the automobile industry?

2. What are the negative impacts of cyber security in the automobile industry

• What are the issues automobile companies face, especially Volkswagen, regarding implementing cyber security?

• What are the mitigation strategies that automobile companies can take to overcome the issue of cyber security?

Methodology

The qualitative data will be collected from secondary sources due to the advantages of large data to form the different sources. The interpretivism research approach will be used due to the effectiveness of creating human-centric research. The inductive research approach is also chosen as it will help enhance the flexibility of the data collection and interpretation of the data in the research (Xu and Zammit, 2020). Primary data collection is time-consuming, although it will limit the collection of scientific data. In addition, secondary data collection is not a scientific research process, but secondary methods will be used due to the abundant data sources. The case-study-based research strategies will be applied in the research as well as the monoi-method will also apply as the research will only use qualitative data from secondary sources.  

Significance of the research of the project 

The methodology proposed in the previous section is much more effective for the research due to the abundant source of data collection for the research. The past research helps to know the issues faced by the automobile companies and the mitigation strategies taken by the management. It also helps future researchers to know about the strategies taken by past researchers to conduct research and the data regarding the state of cyber security in the automobile industry. Volkswagen is a large automobile company also doing business in the international market. The company also faced the issue regarding cybersecurity in the year 2021, so this research helps the company overcome cybersecurity issues and implement the best practices that help protect the company’s data and customers. Cyber security is also required to provide the modern transportation facility with automated driving. 

Ethical issues 

Ransomware, malware, phishing attacks and many more are also associated with implementing cyber security. If any issue occurs in implementing cyber security in automobile companies, especially in Volkswagen will be solved by using the APIC policy. 

References and Resources

Acharya, S., Dvorkin, Y., Pandžić, H. and Karri, R., (2020). Cybersecurity of smart electric vehicle charging: A power grid perspective. IEEE Access, 8, pp.214434-214453. 

CITYA.M., (2022), Volkswagen manager fired after raising cyber security concerns. Available at: 

El-Rewini, Z., Sadatsharan, K., Selvaraj, D.F., Plathottam, S.J. and Ranganathan, P. (2020). Cybersecurity challenges in vehicular communications. Vehicular Communications, 23, p.100214.

Ji, B., Zhang, X., Mumtaz, S., Han, C., Li, C., Wen, H. and Wang, D., (2020). Survey on the internet of vehicles: Network architectures and applications. IEEE Communications Standards Magazine, 4(1), pp.34-41. 

Kim, S. and Shrestha, R., 2020. Automotive Cyber Security. Singapur: Springer. 

Mishra, S., and Tyagi, A. K. (2022). The role of machine learning techniques in the internet of things-based cloud applications. Artificial intelligence-based internet of things systems, 105-135. 

Morris, D., Madzudzo, G. and Garcia-Perez, A., (2020). Cybersecurity threats in the auto industry: Tensions in the knowledge environment. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 157, p.120102. 

Sun, X., Yu, F.R. and Zhang, P. (2021). A survey on cyber-security of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 23(7), pp.6240-6259. 

Xu, W., and Zammit, K. (2020). Applying thematic analysis to education: A hybrid approach to interpreting data in practitioner research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920918810.