Automotive Cybersecurity assessment for road vehicles

Our automotive cybersecurity solutions help you identify risk, reduce threats, maintain regulatory compliance protect the connected, vehicles of tomorrow.

Pictogram in .SVG for Automotive Cybersecurity 2

Cybersecurity assessments for automotives evaluate how well your vehicle, system, or component can withstand cyber threats. It delivers a technical report with identified risks, gaps, and priorities for improvement so you can make informed engineering and business decisions. Our certification service involves assessment plus you receive a certificate with an assessment report.

We assess cybersecurity across road vehicles, systems, and components, covering hardware, software, and full-system architectures at any stage of the lifecycle.

Why choose TÜV SÜD for cybersecurity assessment for automotives

Auto cybersecurity expertise
We help develop automotive cybersecurity standards (ISO/SAE 21434), and cybersecurity and software updates to regulations (UNECE WP.29 GRVA).
Tailored assessment method
Our cybersecurity assessment method is specifically tailored to the automated vehicle approval process and based on international cybersecurity standards.
Extensive automotive experience
100+ years’ experience in automotive safety and performance supporting manufacturers and suppliers in designing and producing safe, robust and secure vehicles.

What we assess

We offer comprehensive cybersecurity assessments that help you design, verify, and implement secure automotive systems and components for connected and automated vehicles. Our assessment services cover three levels: complete vehicles, vehicle systems and individual components.

Vehicle-level cybersecurity assessment

At the vehicle level, we examine how cybersecurity is managed across the full architecture (systems, interfaces, and external connections).

This includes:

End-to-end threat exposure across in-vehicle networks and external interfaces
Interaction between subsystems, backend services, and user-facing functions
Alignment between development processes and cybersecurity requirements

This gives you a clear view of overall vehicle resilience and the areas to address before production, release, or market entry.

System-level cybersecurity assessment

System-level assessments focus on specific domains such as powertrain, ADAS, connectivity modules, or infotainment.

We evaluate:

Security design and architecture of the system
Implementation of technical security controls
Integration risks within the wider vehicle environment

This allows your engineering team to validate whether individual systems meet expected security levels before integration or scaling.

Component-level cybersecurity assessment

Component assessments evaluate hardware, software, or combined elements including ECU-specific and off-the-shelf components.

We assess:

Software-only, hardware-only, and integrated components
Third-party elements within the supply chain
Components not originally designed for a specific vehicle architecture

Component complexity and external dependencies increase risk, especially where multiple suppliers are involved, making independent validation essential.

Your automotive cybersecurity assessment report and other deliverables

Every cybersecurity assessment results in a full technical assessment report designed for your engineering, quality, and compliance teams.

You will receive:

Full technical assessment report identifying the product lifecycle’s strengths and weaknesses at different phases
List of critical elements
Recommendations for improvement

This enables faster decision-making, targeted remediation, and stronger alignment across teams and suppliers.

Our assessment methodology

Our approach evaluates cybersecurity across the entire product lifecycle, not just a single checkpoint.

Scope definition
Document and architecture review
Threat/risk evaluation
Technical assessment
Findings and recommendations
Report delivery

Assessments can be applied at:

Concept and design phase
Development and integration
Validation and pre-production
Post-release updates and operation

This lifecycle-based view is critical, as cybersecurity risks evolve alongside product complexity and connectivity.

Compliance and related standards

Beyond assessment, our services can help support compliance with:

UNECE R155 (Cybersecurity Management Systems)
UNECE R156 (Software Update Management Systems)
ISO/SAE 21434
ISO 24089 / RED if relevant

These help detect and respond to security incidents, support driver safety, and build confidence in safe, secure, and reliable products.

Get started with TÜV SÜD

Contact our experts to scope your cybersecurity assessment for vehicles, systems, or components so you know where you need to take action.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are the cybersecurity challenges for connected vehicles?

Faster development cycles

Product development can be expensive. You may be under pressure to prepare for future developments and speed up timetables without compromising quality or return on investment.

Building a secure backend

You must take a broad defence against cyber-attacks and sweat the finer details, such as securing intellectual property like board documents.

Strengthening your position as a technology enabler

Savvy operators must consolidate their role with customers, starting with planning and mitigating risks along the value chain.

Monitoring security incidents

Suppliers and manufacturers must prioritise cybersecurity, establishing processes and strategies to secure the fleet in a dynamic environment.

Providing reliable products and secure connected solutions

To protect today's complex vehicles, go beyond security measures—rigorously test products to ensure compliance, detect defects early, and guarantee safety.

Supporting a reliable production process

You must avoid interrupting or compromising reliable production processes. This means proactively handling challenges to the process chain, including downtime and asset failures.

What issues does a cybersecurity assessment for automated and connected vehicles address?

AVs have a complex architecture, as they integrate multiple automated driving functions and a wide variety of communication interfaces. An external attacker successfully compromising such functions endangers the safety of road users. It can also cause serious privacy, financial and operational harm to businesses and passengers. As vehicle connectivity increases, so the potential risk of cyberattacks escalates. TÜV SÜD has therefore extended its approach to include cybersecurity in the evaluation of vehicle prototypes.

Which standards should be considered for cybersecurity assessment and certification of intelligent road vehicles?

Currently there is the regulation UNECE R155 and the international standard ISO/SAE 21434. Compliance according to UNECE R155 is required to achieve road vehicle type approval. ISO /SAE 21434 is a complementary standard which proves your product development process fulfils cybersecurity requirements.

Do we need to consider any additional requirements for connected vehicles?

It is mandatory to ensure additional compliance according to the Radio Equipment Directive RED 2014/53/EU.

The standard mandates cybersecurity, personal data and privacy protection for devices that can:

3.3d – Communicate over the internet, either directly or via any other equipment.
3.3e – Process personal data, traffic data or location data.
3.3f – Enable users to transfer money, monetary value or virtual currency.

Do I need to consider cybersecurity as a second stage manufacturer, known in the industry also as "bodybuilder"?

Second stage manufacturer must develop as Cybersecurity Management System (CSMS) which is compliant according to UNECE R155. Maintaining a connection with the original manufacturer is essential in case there is ever a cybersecurity issue.