Synopsys aims to make connected vehicles safe & secure

BANGALORE, INDIA: Synopsys is expanding its Software Integrity strategy to address the cybersecurity and safety challenges faced by the automotive industry.

The automotive industry as a whole lacks the cognizance, resources and institutionalized best practices necessary to test and secure systems at the pace in which they're being introduced.

With increasing connectivity and the imminence of autonomous driving, secure software development practices, vetted testing tools and standards compliance are essential for automotive manufacturers and their suppliers.

"As the automotive industry turns to connectivity and increasingly complex, interconnected software systems to drive innovation, the risks of insecure software development practices and poor software supply chain management are now a board-level concern," said Andreas Kuehlmann, senior vice president and general manager of Synopsys' Software Integrity Group. "Mitigating these risks will require close industry collaboration, as well as advanced testing methodologies and comprehensive tool suites."

To address these critical needs, Synopsys is enhancing its Software Integrity Platform to support existing functional safety standards and is collaborating with automotive industry stakeholders to establish new standards that focus on cybersecurity.

Synopsys' Software Integrity Platform is based on an integrated development and testing methodology called 'software signoff.'

Software signoff implements a series of automated testing processes at critical progression points throughout the software development lifecycle and software supply chain to elevate confidence in the quality and security of software.

Coverity andTest Advisor, two of the applicable tools in Synopsys' Software Integrity Platform used for static analysis and test optimization respectively, are compliant with the ISO 26262 and IEC 61508 standards.

ISO 26262 is an international standard, based on the more generic IEC 61508 safety standard, which specifically addresses possible hazards caused by malfunctioning electronic and electrical systems in road vehicles. The standard requires essential tools used in the development of safety-critical systems to be independently certified.

In addition to providing solutions that support existing industry standards such as ISO 26262 and MISRA (The Motor Industry Software Reliability Association), Synopsys is collaborating with vehicle manufacturers, their suppliers and other industry stakeholders to establish new standards that go beyond functional safety and coding guidelines to specifically address cybersecurity risk throughout the software development lifecycle and software supply chain.