Pierluigi Paganini February 18, 2019

Toyota plans to release the
PASTA (Portable Automotive Security Testbed) Car-Hacking Tool on GitHub next month.

Takuya Yoshida from Toyota’s InfoTechnology Center and his colleague Tsuyoshi Toyama are members of a Toyota team that developed the new tool, called PASTA (Portable Automotive Security Testbed).

PASTA is an open-source testing platform specifically designed for car hacking, it was developed to help experts to test cyber security features of modern vehicles. The tool was presented by the security duo at the BLACK HAT EUROPE 2018 that revealed Toyota’s plans to share the specifications on Github and will start selling the fully built system in Japan.

Now Toyama announced that the carmaker plans to make the PASTA tool available via GitHub as early as next month or April.

Toyama and his team will share open-source the platform’s specs, CAN (controller area network) ID maps, ECU (engine control unit) program codes, and ECU circuit diagrams for vehicle testing. The carmaker also plans to offer PASTA’s driving simulator programs as open source.

The PASTA car hacking tool is contained in an 8 kg portable briefcase, experts highlighted the delay of the automotive industry in developing cyber security for modern cars.

Source: Dark Reading

Giving a close look at pasta case, we can find four ECUs inside, as well as a console to run tests of the car system operation or to carry out attacks, for example injecting CAN messages. The platform simulates the remote operation of a vehicle and its components, including wheels, brakes, and windows.

“It’s small and portable so users can study, research, and hack with it anywhere.” said the expert during thedemonstration at Black Hat Europe. .“You can modify the programming of ECUs in C” as well, he said.

Among future improvements for PASTA there is the implementation of other connectivity features, including Ethernet, LIN, and CAN FD, Wi-Fi and of course Bluetooth.

You can download slides and the research paper from the following link:

• Download Presentation Slides
• Download White Paper

Toyama will demonstrate PASTA at the next Black Hat Asia in Singapore.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – car hacking, cybersecurity)

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