Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Car Drives You -- Part IV -- Today's Cars Come With Up to 3,000 Chips and Security Isn't of Concern

Consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited estimates that as of 2017, some 40% of the cost of a new car can be attributed to semiconductor-based electronic systems, a cost doubling since 2007. It estimates this total will approach 50% by 2030. The company further predicts that each new car today has about $600 worth of semiconductors packed into it, consisting of up to 3,000 chips of all types.
Further, internal and external vehicle communications have exploded in the past decade. In 2008, there were an estimated 2,500 data signals being exchanged among the ECUs in a luxury car. Volvo’s Antinyan says that today more than 7,000 external signals connect the 120 ECUs in Volvo vehicles, and the number of internal vehicle signals being exchanged are two orders of magnitude greater. Consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates this information can easily surpass 25 gigabytes of data an hour.
Article from 2021 (IEEE)



Summary: The concept of software freedom inside cars has become a distant fantasy; the cars that are being manufactured nowadays disregard security and embrace unnecessary complexity

ABOUT a week ago we started this series. We looked at a consultation right here in the UK -- a misguided bit of text which characterises modifying one's own car as "tampering". Shades of "sideloading" in the context of software...



Demonising those who exercise control over a device they bought?

We then looked at what Toyota had begun doing, published Part I about the issue, and then -- several days later -- expanded in Part II and in last night's Part III. We've meanwhile, in parallel, studied just what amount of computing had crept into today's cars (gradually over the years). The data isn't entirely secret, but there are not many publications about it; more importantly, there seems to be no public debate about software freedom in that context. We wish to change that.

"The data isn't entirely secret, but there are not many publications about it; more importantly, there seems to be no public debate about software freedom in that context."Last week we wrote that in today's cars there's "not just a computer onboard but several"; a person contacted us to say "not just a computer onboard but many"...

OK, but just how many exactly? Obviously that depends on the car, but there are many overlaps across models and brands.

I am not clueless about today's cars; I did drive in the past and a decade ago I went to a car agency (that was the last time). Even in 2011 things were already starting to look grim. It was a Toyota agency.

"Most car fanatics I know consider the car a single system and ignore the many microcontrollers," an associate noted a week ago. "I have the feeling that on top of that most of the information is proprietary..."

Certainly, in my experience, the media does not inform people about the situation; I only realised how big an issue it was when supply chain woes caused price spikes and critical shortages; it was getting too hard to get all the bits to assemble new cars [1, 2].

So we decided to study a number authoritative pages about the number of processors and the nature of the tasks they perform. I already knew about the "micro" (processors) ones, which aren't exactly new and are installed at the ends/edges, but was not sure how they qualify with respect to "computer" (the components and their complexity may vary in definition).

As our associate put it, "there are many microcontrollers, I guess based on activities, and at least two full computers." There are publications[PDF] and full articles about it (not necessarily new). As our associate explained, "another site, with a comment going to a dead MIT link, suggests 50 to 70 "Electronic Control Units" in cars as of ten years ago."

That's the last time I went to a car agency. It has certainly increased a lot since then.

"That's even older" than this ("More Auto Computers Means More Complicated, Costly and Longer Repairs" according to this article from 2016), the associated noted, quoting various bits. This page says "high-end cars have as many as 100, and they’re accompanied by 60 to 100 different electronic sensors..."

And these parts are controlled by computers: "Engine control, Exhaust control, Heating/cooling, Fuel pump, Water pump, Transmission, Power steering, Brakes, Traction control, Airbags, Collison warning, Parking assist, Backup monitoring, Door and trunk locks, Power windows, Climate control, Power seats, Wipers, Charging system, Interior lighting, Brake lights, turn signals, Headlamps/daytime running lamps, Navigation, Car audio, and GPS..."

And "add side- and rear-view mirrors to that long list above," our associate noted.

"There are security/safety implications, as we covered earlier this year (in summer)..."Remember that these are all proprietary, some go decades back, but now they get connected to the Internet and more (e.g. Bluetooth connectivity with another device, which may be compromised). So some are connected less directly to the Net, e.g. their local (car) mother ship, which is in turn controlled by a bigger mother ship (vendor/government/cracker).

There are security/safety implications, as we covered earlier this year (in summer), and articles like "How a Hacker Could Hijack Your Car While You Drive" (Tom's Guide) that deal with the main question.

"It's largely ignored because, as mentioned, car fans see the vehicle as a physical object still when in reality most of it is software," our associate said. "Yes, all proprietary and restricted so as to lock out independent repair shops and mechanics. There was a lot of attention to this about 10 years ago in the various security conferences. Then a burst of information as some of the embargoes were lifted. I presume the quietness on that front means that more of the researchers are under NDAs again. Shmoocon, DefCon, and BlackHat usually have automative tracks."

We hope the conversation will be resumed and extended to the Free software world. We need to do more to highlight the dangers and tackle the problem.

"General-purpose computing is niche nowadays," our associate said, "and that niche has been shrinjing. The multinationals also appear to be aiming to eliminate it eventually. UEFI, TPM, DRM etc..."

"We hope the conversation will be resumed and extended to the Free software world. We need to do more to highlight the dangers and tackle the problem."Well, almost nobody covers these issues, so it's a vacuum we can fill in the coming weeks/months. We invite groups like the FSF (even SFC and OSI) to do the same.

More than a decade ago we still saw people saying that software was eating the world (citing famous old words), but nowadays people talk about "apps" and "clown computing" and all sorts of other nonsense. Not too long ago an article entitled "How Software Is Eating the Car" was published in IEEE Spectrum. To quote: "Predictions of lost global vehicle production caused by the ongoing semiconductor shortage continue to rise. In January, analysts forecast that 1.5 million fewer vehicles would be produced as a result of the shortage; by April that number had steadily climbed to more than 2.7 million units, and by May, to more than 4.1 million units. The semiconductor shortage has underscored not only the fragility of the automotive supply chain, but placed an intense spotlight on the auto industry’s reliance on the dozens of concealed computers embedded throughout vehicles today."

Get ready for some numbers that are more recent: "The company further predicts that each new car today has about $600 worth of semiconductors packed into it, consisting of up to 3,000 chips of all types."

"The IEEE article above speaks of "7,000 external signals", "120 ECUs" and so on. They say "Electronic Control Unit" (as euphemism for a computer)."Up to 3,000.

As our associated noted, "security has to be part of the design process, but it hasn't been, thus we end up with not just CAN but with everything integrated with it."

The IEEE article above speaks of "7,000 external signals", "120 ECUs" and so on. They say "Electronic Control Unit" (as euphemism for a computer).

In the next part we'll continue this discussion. One growing concern is, the lobbyists of car-making giants are trying to pass new laws mandating all sorts of things which eventually take "old" or "dumb" cars off the road (even if some manufacturers produce new alternatives that opt out of this whole mess).

Recent Techrights' Posts

The FSF Board and FSF Beard
So the FSF's Board has grown
Law Firms Facing the Consequences for Patently Abusive Litigation on Behalf of Microsoft Employees Who Got Arrested for Strangulation and Had Done Even Worse Things
Having spent 1.5 years bullying me with patronising letters on behalf of Microsofters, last week they got served a massive bill and, in effect, lost the Hearing
LLMs Breaking Everything
Computing and the Net became a playground for scammers and "bros", like people who "invented" fake currencies and also try to tell us that LLMs spewing out things will have some real value
 
Links 22/06/2025: Windows TCO Tales and YouTube Getting More Hostile to Users
Links for the day
New Report From the EPO's Staff Representatives in The Hague (LSCTH) Reveals Many Unsolved Issues
Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) wrote to staff just before the weekend
Links 22/06/2025: More Slop Lawsuits (Copyrights) and "America’s Oligarch Problem"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/06/2025: Gigantic Toolchest and Annoying Bots
Links for the day
The Calling
Persist and persevere, justice will come your way
So Far Every BetaNews 'Article' is LLM Slop, So BetaNews is Officially Just a Slopfarm
They just don't seem to value what they have
IBM Rumour: Mass Layoffs (RAs) Lists Being Made for Consulting, With Effect in July 2025
Bogus companies with no viable products and no world-leading (in their field) staff are doomed to perish
Links 21/06/2025: Data Breach With 16 Billion Passwords, Dutch Government Recommends Children Under 15 Stay off TikTok and Instagram
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/06/2025: Notes about Typst (and LaTeX) and Opos
Links for the day
Microsoft's Competition Tactics: Sabotage GNU/Linux Installs, Block Chrome
Edge is dying
1989: Free Software as "Open" Software (OSI Didn't Coin "Open Source", It Also Predates Linux)
"One man's fight for Free software"
The Microsoft OOXML Modus Operandi: Throw 1,000 Pages of Other People's Work for a Judge to Read Ahead of a One-Hour Meeting
No time to discuss this - that's the point
Formalities Officers (FOs) at the EPO Are in Trouble, Reveals Internal Report
We already know, based on an HR pattern we saw at IBM and elsewhere, that reallocating roles can be prerequisite for dismissal and those who do so expect many to resign anyway
The Web is Slop and FUD, Let's Go to Gemini Protocol
Lupa sees self-signed capsules at 92.4%
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 20, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, June 20, 2025
Links 21/06/2025: Phone Bans for Concerts, Tensions in Taiwan Strait
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/06/2025: Spoilers, Public Yggdrasil Node, Changes to AuraGem Search
Links for the day
"Six years of Gemini!"
From gemini://geminiprotocol.net
Gemini Links 20/06/2025: Summer Updates and Hardware Failures
Links for the day
Links 20/06/2025: Google Shareholder Sues Google and Google Sued for Defamatory Slop ('Hey Hi') Word Salads ('Summaries')
Links for the day
Linux Journal Might Have Become the Latest Slopfarm Targeting "Linux", the Trends Are Concerning for Dying News Sites
They tarnish the Web with junk and then die
On "Learning to Code"
quality may suffer, plus things get bloated
Quick Points Regarding This Week's Court Hearing
it paves the way for us to squash all the SLAPPs from Microsofters
Common Mistake: Believing Social Control Media Will Document Your Writings/Thoughts and Search Engines Like Google Will Help You Find These
Many news sites wrongly assumed that posting directly to Twitter would be acceptable
The Manchester Bees and This Hot Summer
We have had a fantastic week so far this week
Gemini Protocol Enters Its Seventh Year, Growth Has Accelerated!
Maybe in June 20 2026 there will be over 3,500 active capsules?
Mastodon and the Fediverse Have an Issue: Liability for Content (Even in Other Instances) and Costs
self-hosting is the only logical path forward
Why Microsoft and Its 'Hey Hi' (Slop) Frenzy Fail While Sinking in Deep, Growing Debt
Right now, like Twitter around the time it was sold to MElon, "open" "hey hi" is a big pile of debt with a lot to pay for that debt (interest payments)
Europe is Leaving Microsoft, the Press Coverage Isn't Sufficiently Helpful
The news is generally positive, but the press coverage leaves so much to be desired
Slopwatch: Linuxsecurity, BetaNews, and Linux Journal
slippery slope
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 19, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/06/2025: Gemini Protocol Turns 6!
Links for the day