Congratulations to HARMAN's pending acquisition TowerSec for recieving a 2016 Frost & Sullivan Award. TowerSec is a leading provider of robust on-board cybersecurity solutions to the global automotive industry. It combines its extensive experience in automotive engineering and its deep understanding of cybersecurity to work with OEMs, suppliers and aftermarket service providers to fully protect vehicles from outside intrusion.
Based on its recent analysis of the automotive software cybersecurity market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes TowerSec with the 2016 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation. TowerSec, a leading global automotive software cybersecurity service provider, specializes in delivering onboard cybersecurity technology to vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers and telematics vendors.
To support connected services in automobiles, vehicle data needs to be safe and secure. TowerSec addresses this cybersecurity issue in vehicles with two products, ECUSHIELD and TCUSHIELD.
“The TowerSec ECUSHIELD has been recognized and used by global automakers and suppliers to protect vehicle mission critical communication from external hackers, as well as secure personal data and lives,” said Frost & Sullivan Senior Consultant Sriram Venkatraman. “TowerSec’s ECUSHIELD solution is a cloud-independent, standalone application that can be easily integrated virtually with any Electronic Control Unit (ECU) inside the vehicle platforms. Independent, standalone systems, can retrieve reliable results very rapidly.”
The ECUSHIELD solution has a double perimeter that protects in vehicle communication from internal and external communication channels. The internal channels include the ECUs linked within the vehicle, while the external channels comprise wireless communication channels like mobile technologies as well as wired interfaces like the Diagnostics port.
In addition TowerSec is tapping the fiercely competitive cyber security market with proven and tested cyber security software solutions that can be easily integrated into existing and future vehicles across different operating systems (OS) without any design changes.
TowerSec provides two types of applications for OEMs to choose from—the ECUSHIELD implemented on a gateway, or implemented on an individual ECU. The ECUSHIELD on an individual ECU serves as an intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS /IPS), whereas ECUSHIELD implemented on a gateway serves as a smart firewall in addition to being an intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS / IPS), . Furthermore, the ECUSHIELD integrates across operating systems, hardware designs and network architectures so redesign is not required.
“The TowerSec business model is shaped by its focus on a collaborative approach with the auto manufacturers. TowerSec accommodates and supports their unique growth strategies by leveraging technology and levying a one-time installation fee, followed by software updates and service fees,” noted Venkatraman. “Besides, the company performs on going research and security assessments for the ECUSHIELD installed on the vehicle, which further enhances customer satisfaction and, eventually, increases customer retention.”
For its cybersecurity products that detect and mitigate malicious communication in real time, Frost & Sullivan is pleased to present TowerSec with the 2016 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased ROI it offers customers, which, in turn, improves customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.
“TowerSec has done a remarkably good job of understanding customer needs in the automotive software cybersecurity industry and developing an innovative product to address those needs. Its ECUSHIELD is uniquely positioned for sustained success because it addresses the core issues that automotive OEMs care about—reliability, functionality and connectivity,” said Krishna Srinivasan, Frost & Sullivan global president and managing partner.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.