Battelle Announces Third Annual CyberAuto Challenge

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwired - Apr 7, 2014) -  Scores of students, engineers, scientists, policy leaders and white hat "hackers" will gather in Detroit this summer for the third annual Battelle CyberAuto Challenge, a five-day practicum-based camp designed to address cybersecurity in automobiles.

Battelle, the world's largest nonprofit research and development organization and a leader in cyber security and connected vehicle technology, developed the CyberAuto Challenge in 2012 to champion science and technology, especially in the automotive industry, as a career choice for today's youth. Today's vehicles have more computational power than most laptops and increasingly sophisticated communications systems that could be vulnerable to corruption, misuse or unauthorized access.

"Most kids interested in computers, computer code and ethical hacking don't think to put the automotive industry at the top of their possible career list," said Karl Heimer, director of Battelle's Center for Advanced Vehicle Environments. "We want to change that and help the industry create robust, efficient automotive systems that are resilient to attack."

At the Battelle CyberAuto Challenge, students will be divided into teams with an equal ratio of working professionals from a variety of organizations, including automotive manufacturers, federal agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security and Defense; and research organizations. During the week-long educational and training event, the teams will participate in daily lecture and instruction in subjects such as secure system design, secure programming, embedded systems, IT law and ethics. Then, each day, they will apply their new knowledge to practical challenges on actual cars. Many of the sessions will have time constraints to simulate real-world conditions.

The Battelle CyberAuto Challenge will be held July 13-18 at the Troy, MI location of Delphi Automotive.

"Our longstanding commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, combined with deep expertise in technology and cyber make us uniquely qualified to help develop an entirely new discipline -- the cyber automotive engineer," Heimer said.

Battelle has helped promote STEM education since its founding in 1929. Since then, Battelle has become a trusted leader in national security, with unparalleled experience in cyber providing risk analysis, threat assessment and detection, countermeasures and other security services to federal agencies and financial services companies. Battelle's work in automotive technology includes the development of anti-lock brakes and cruise control, as well as crash safety and collision avoidance programs with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Battelle is applying that expertise to the automotive industry's growing need for security and performance technologies that protect the connected car, creating a portfolio of cyber automotive products and services. This offering includes a new technology, called NEM, which Battelle is currently testing with several automotive manufacturers. NEM applies machine-learning to understand normal behaviors through vehicle usage and then detect system anomalies. NEM can alert the driver, intervene or alert authorities, depending on the severity of the threat.

Another new cyber auto technology from Battelle, VITAL, provides drivers with a wide variety of vehicle-generated data, including speed and acceleration, steering-wheel over-correction and aggressive driving behaviors. This type of data can help improve driver behaviors or fine-tune vehicles.

For more information about the Battelle CyberAuto Challenge, visit www.battelle.org/cyber-auto-challenge or #cyberauto on Twitter.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.