Professional Articles

The continuing technological advancement that is enabling decreasing costs and greater compactness of devices make it possible to connect and control more physical elements in the industrial environment today. This is enabling industrial engineers to monitor processes with greater accuracy and drive OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). At the same time separate operational technology (OT) systems are merging with enterprise IT infrastructure. However, this greater connectivity also brings more…

The ISO 26262 safety standard is a specialization of the general IEC 61508 functional safety standard and defines generic (software) applications and generic (hardware) products that can receive independent certification for automotive applications. When building a complex safety system, such commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products can be reused, including their existing certification artifacts. With this approach, safety-related electronics can be assembled from pre-certified software and…

With the increasing use of networked digital technologies in safety-critical areas of railway operations, the requirements for cyber security, which must be considered together with functional safety, are growing. In the HASELNUSS project, a safety platform is being developed that allows the joint operation of safety and security applications on one system.

For many years, embedded Linux systems have been used predominantly in networked environments. These systems worked well for a long time - true to the motto "Never touch a running system". However, this inevitably leads to security problems and is accompanied by the fact that, according to the latest Cyber Security Report by Allensbach and Deloitte, managers see a growing threat situation in their IT infrastructures. Embedded systems can be found in many electronic devices - from specialized…

In Multi-Core-Systemen ist kaum vorhersagbar, wie sich die Kerne gegenseitig beeinflussen, wenn auf gemeinsame Ressourcen zugegriffen wird. Bisher wurde sicherheitshalber das gesamte System gesperrt, solange kritische Codesegmente ausgeführt werden. Aber das muss nicht sein, denn das geht auf Kosten des Echtzeitverhaltens.

In the latest issue of Global Railway Review, Dr. Sergey Tverdyshev (Director of Research & Technology at SYSGO) talks about security certifications of railway systems considering the MILS concept. He is the technical leader of the certMILS project – certMILS aims to protect critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks by compositional security certification to deliver a certified Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS) platform. But how can this be applied to railway systems?

Functional security and cybersecurity are among the most important issues in the development of modern vehicles, and the certification of individual systems will become increasingly important in the future. Developers must therefore increasingly work according to the "Safety & Security by Design" principle. Real-time operating systems based on a separation kernel enable new approaches.

Increasing digitalisation presents the armed forces with a whole host of new challenges. Digitalised vehicles and weapon systems are potentially vulnerable to cyber attacks ‒ and not just when they are connected to the Internet. As demonstrated by the Stuxnet computer worm in the attacks on the Iranian nuclear programme, even systems and networks that are supposedly isolated are at risk. Social engineering allows malware to infiltrate such systems even without a direct network connection.

Different types of IoT applications are subject to different security standards. Whether you want to meet the requirements of the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security (ISO 15408), IEC 62443 for Industrial Control Systems, EDSA (Embedded Device Security Analysis) or J3061 in the automotive sector: We will show you how you can quickly meet all necessary requirements with a component-based software design.

In many applications in the railways, aircraft or automotive industry the interaction between safety and security is of particular importance, since there are many dependencies between them and they can therefore no longer be considered separately.

The cost-effective and safe implementation of assistance systems and autonomous cars requires a new approach to development of the control components. The objective is to integrate diverse applications on one hardware platform, but - for safety reasons - to be able to continue operating them fully independently.

Alongside electromobility, driver assistance systems and autonomous driving are currently the most important focal points in automotive development. Today, many functions in automobiles are already fully or partially automated; driver assistance systems such as distance warning systems, rear-view cameras or parking aids are finding their way into series production of even small and medium-sized vehicles. Fully autonomous cars, buses and even trucks are in test operation on public roads; the…

In modern aircrafts, more and more functions traditionally implemented as Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) will be hosted by Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) modules. At the same time new aircraft programs will require new safety functions, information services and comfort features which will also increase the demand for processing performance of IMA modules.

The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) forms the basis for standardization in relation to train control systems (ETCS), command control and safety technology, and Integrated Electronic Control Centres (IECC) in Europe [ETC16]. The previous HW/SW systems in these fields followed a monolithic integration approach applied by the individual manufacturers. This harbours problems relating to the compatibility of the systems of the various manufacturers, creates dependencies and reduces…

What steps led to the creation of a heterogeneous overall system that meets the functional safety requirements defined in ISO 26262?