Grant: Canada Research Chairs

The importance of cybersecurity in the present global landscape cannot be emphasized enough, especially given recent events that have underscored the pressing dangers confronting both Canada and global society. Ensuring safety and security is paramount when constructing reliable cyber-physical systems like connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). Numerous security weaknesses expose CAVs to the potential for attacks, misuse, and threats to safety. The Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Cyber-Physical System Security will lead multi-disciplinary research to build next generation secure and safe CAVs by applying the principles of security and privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), software development, and communication networks. Over the next seven years, this CRC program will develop secure software for vehicles, defend transport connectivity from attacks, protect in-vehicle networks, detect intrusions in autonomous vehicular networks, and secure the Internet of Things (IoT) for CAVs. The immediate contribution of this CRC research program is in its design of advanced techniques to develop secure software and detect intrusions for CAVs. Methods and tools derived from this research will play a vital role in advancing state of the art vehicle security. The broader impact of this program will lie in its integration of the security-by-design concept in building secure cyber-physical systems in which real-time operations are minimally impacted by cyberattacks. This is crucial for system certification and federal or international standardization to ensure that vehicle software systems can guarantee a specific level of security for vehicles. The research will also help reestablish the trust of CAV consumers and IoT users with respect to security and safety. This CRC research program is in alignment with the Government of Canada’s emphasis on the immediate need for highly trained cybersecurity experts and Transport Canada’s Vehicle Cyber Security Strategy. The program will practice and promote I-EDIAA (Indigenization - Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, and Accessibility) in establishing a unique multidisciplinary training and research environment of international renown.