Cybersecurity Vehicle Forum – Yokohama, Japan – 22 May 2025

Strengthening Automotive Cybersecurity: Key Insights from GlobalPlatform's Cybersecurity Vehicle Forum in Yokohama on May 22nd during the JSAE Summit

The automotive industry's digital transformation continues to accelerate, bringing both unprecedented innovation and complex security challenges. At the recent GlobalPlatform Cybersecurity Vehicle Forum in Japan, industry leaders, government officials, and cybersecurity experts gathered to address the critical intersection of automotive technology and security standards in Japan's rapidly evolving mobility landscape.

Setting the Stage: A Collaborative Approach to Automotive Security

The event kicked off with warm welcomes from Francesca Forestieri of GlobalPlatform and Takanobu Ishibashi, Acting Chair of the Japan Task Force from Toshiba, setting a collaborative tone for the day's discussions. The gathering represented a unique convergence of automotive manufacturers, technology providers, regulatory bodies, and cybersecurity specialists—all united by the shared goal of securing tomorrow's connected vehicles.

Government Perspective: Japan's Cybersecurity Strategy Takes Center Stage

A highlight of the morning session was the keynote address by Taketo Yamada from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). His presentation on Japanese Cybersecurity Strategy provided crucial insights into how government policy is shaping the security landscape for automotive technologies. This government-industry dialogue demonstrates Japan's proactive approach to addressing cybersecurity challenges at the national level, particularly as the country positions itself as a leader in automotive innovation.

Emerging Threats and Real-World Challenges

The technical sessions revealed the multifaceted nature of automotive cybersecurity challenges. Dennis Kengo OKA from IAV Co. Ltd. presented compelling data on current automotive threats and attack trends, painting a picture of an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape that requires equally sophisticated defensive measures.

Particularly noteworthy was Dr. Kota Ideguchi's presentation from AIST on security challenges in CMOS image sensors for automotive applications. As vehicles become more reliant on camera-based systems for everything from parking assistance to autonomous driving, securing these visual input systems becomes paramount. The discussion around SESIP (Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms) opportunities in this space highlighted the need for comprehensive security frameworks that address even seemingly peripheral components.

Industry Innovation Meets Standardization Needs

The presentations from industry leaders revealed the practical challenges of implementing security at scale. Kimitaka Asaka from Hitachi Solutions Technology presented OEM use cases for security standardization, while Daisuke Moriyama from Renesas explored automotive trends in MCU/SoC features, identifying specific opportunities for GlobalPlatform's work.

These discussions underscored a critical industry need: while innovation in automotive technology continues at breakneck speed, the security frameworks and standards must evolve in parallel to ensure these advances don't create new vulnerabilities.

Regulatory Landscape: Navigating Complex Requirements

The afternoon's regulatory focus brought attention to several key compliance frameworks. The discussion of SAE J3101 and its potential synergies in Japan highlighted the importance of harmonizing international standards with local requirements. Additionally, presentations on Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) by Thales experts and the Cyber Resilience Act by Carlos Serratos from NXP demonstrated how regulatory requirements are driving technical innovation in automotive security.

Trusted Execution Environments: A Foundation of Secure Vehicles

A significant portion of the agenda focused on Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), with multiple presentations exploring their implementation in automotive contexts. From Richard Hayton's foundational overview to Vincent Mailhol's insights from Woven on TEEs in automotive applications.

Looking forward on Security Features in Automotive

Toru Furukawa's presentation on automotive iHSM security solutions from RAMBUS revealed the importance of strategic collaborations for integrated security solutions and API standardization for hardware-software interoperability mission-critical.

Hence a call to the automotive industry to collaborate on identifying and prioritizing key HSM hardware and software APIs for standardization to enhance interoperability and ecosystem compatibility,  ultimately boosting Time to Market (TTM) and Time to Revenue (TTR) efficiency.

The intrusion detection and protection systems presentation by Seiki Hara from VicOne added another layer to the security discussion, emphasizing the need for active monitoring and response capabilities in addition to preventive measures.

SESIP and Secure Elements: Building Blocks for Trust

The final technical sessions focused on two critical components of automotive security architecture. The SESIP presentation by Jorge Wallace Ruiz from Dekra, alongside Francesca Forestieri, highlighted how standardized security evaluation processes can provide confidence in automotive security implementations at different layers, both with transparency on security robustness levels of implementation in products but also in the ability to have "delta certifications”, i.e. certification of only any additional requierments for new marekts and re-using the base certifications.

Laurent Tabaries from STMicroelectronics and Yves-Emmanuel Le Bobinnec from Thales presented Secure Element (SE) technology and how these security chips are being deployed in automotive applications. The segment also explored how SEs can extend the capabilities of Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), providing additional layers of protection for critical automotive functions.

Looking Forward: Building a Collaborative Framework

The event concluded with presentations from Kenji Takahashi of Trustonic on the Japan Task Force's role and future directions. The emphasis on collaboration and knowledge sharing reflects a mature understanding that automotive cybersecurity challenges cannot be solved by any single organization or approach.

Key Takeaways for the Industry

Several important themes emerged from the day's discussions:

Holistic Security Approach: Modern automotive security requires attention to every component, from traditional ECUs to image sensors and communication systems.

Regulatory Alignment: Success in the global automotive market increasingly depends on navigating complex, evolving regulatory frameworks while maintaining security effectiveness.

Standardization as an Enabler: Rather than constraining innovation, well-designed security standards like those developed by GlobalPlatform can accelerate secure development and deployment.

Government-Industry Partnership: The active participation of METI demonstrates the critical importance of public-private collaboration in addressing national cybersecurity challenges.

Technology Foundation: TEEs, secure elements, and comprehensive evaluation frameworks like SESIP provide the building blocks for trustworthy automotive systems.

The Path Ahead

As vehicles become increasingly connected and autonomous, events like this GlobalPlatform Cybersecurity Vehicle Forum become ever more critical. They provide essential forums for sharing knowledge, aligning approaches, and building the collaborative relationships necessary to address complex, evolving security challenges.

The automotive industry's transformation is creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation, but also unprecedented responsibilities for security. The technical depth and collaborative spirit demonstrated at this event suggest that industry leaders are taking these responsibilities seriously and working together to build a more secure automotive future.

For organizations involved in automotive technology development, participation in GlobalPlatform represents not just an opportunity to stay informed about latest developments, but to actively contribute to shaping the security standards that will define the industry's future.

View the agenda and access the presentations at the links below: