Module 1: Foundations of Connected Car Systems and Attack Surfaces

• Introduction to vehicle electronics: ECUs, sensors, and control networks
• Evolution of connected vehicles: From telematics to full autonomy
• Understanding the attack surface: In-vehicle, remote, and supply chain entry points
• Common communication protocols: CAN, LIN, FlexRay, and Ethernet in modern vehicles
• Role of gateway modules in internal network segmentation
• Threat modeling approach for vehicle systems using STRIDE
• Mapping attacker motivations: Financial, sabotage, espionage, reputation
• Identifying high-risk components: Telematics Control Unit (TCU), infotainment, ADAS
• Understanding OBD-II port vulnerabilities and physical access exploits
• Case study: 2015 Jeep Cherokee remote hijack – full technical breakdown

Module 2: Cybersecurity Standards and Regulatory Compliance Frameworks

• Overview of UN R155 and UN R156: Requirements for automotive cybersecurity and software updates
• Comparing ISO/SAE 21434 and NISTIR 8259A for automotive IoT security
• Role of the CSMS (Cybersecurity Management System) in vehicle development
• Understanding UNECE WP.29 regulations and compliance deadlines
• Implementing ISO/TS 50573 for software bill of materials (SBOM) in automotive
• Purpose and implementation of SUMS (Software Update Management System)
• Aligning with NHTSA cybersecurity best practices for manufacturers
• Overview of GDPR, CCPA, and their impact on vehicle data handling
• GDPR-compliant data minimisation strategies in V2X communications
• Cybersecurity by design: Integrating compliance into early R&D phases

Module 3: Vehicle Network Architecture and Communication Protocols

• Detailed analysis of CAN bus architecture and limitations
• Understanding message spoofing and replay attacks on CAN networks
• Reverse engineering CAN signals using real filtering techniques
• Differences between high-speed, medium-speed, and low-speed CAN
• Introduction to CAN FD and its security implications
• Breakdown of LIN bus and its role in low-cost subsystems
• FlexRay protocol: Use cases and security weaknesses
• Automotive Ethernet: Design, bandwidth, and segmentation importance
• Adoption of Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and security considerations
• SOC and SIC: Separation of concerns in complex vehicle networks

Module 4: Wireless and V2X Communication Security

• Wireless attack vectors: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, and key fobs
• Understanding relay attacks and cryptographic countermeasures
• Security flaws in passive keyless entry/start systems
• Introduction to Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) standards
• Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) and security architecture
• Cellular V2X (C-V2X): LTE and 5G NR for automotive
• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in V2X trust models
• Security Credential Management System (SCMS) architecture and operation
• Denial-of-service attacks in V2X environments and mitigations
• Privacy-preserving pseudonym certificates in anonymous V2X messaging

Module 5: Telematics and Cloud Interface Protection

• Architecture of modern telematics control units (TCUs)
• Data flow from vehicle to cloud: Logging, diagnostics, and over-the-air updates
• Securing HTTPS communication between car and backend servers
• Certificate pinning and mutual TLS for TCU authentication
• OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect for user authentication in mobile apps
• Mitigating account takeover and session hijacking in connected services
• Logging and monitoring cloud-side API usage for anomaly detection
• Secure firmware updates: Delta vs full image, rollback protection
• Verifying integrity and authenticity of OTA packages using digital signatures
• Designing zero-trust principles into cloud-connected vehicle systems

Module 6: Embedded System Hardening and ECU Security

• Secure boot process and chain of trust in automotive microcontrollers
• Hardware security modules (HSMs) and Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs)
• Role of secure elements (SEs) in key protection and cryptographic operations
• Memory protection: Memory-mapped I/O and protecting critical modules
• Secure firmware storage using encrypted file systems
• Runtime integrity checks and detection of memory corruption
• Defending against fault injection attacks (glitching, power, EM)
• Hardware tamper detection: Sensors, mesh wiring, and shielding
• Secure debugging interfaces: JTAG, SWD, and how to disable or protect them
• Best practices for minimal attack surface in ECU software stacks

Module 7: Threat Detection and Intrusion Prevention in Vehicle Networks

• Designing IDS for CAN bus: Signature-based vs anomaly-based detection
• Implementing machine learning models to detect abnormal CAN traffic
• CAN intrusion detection: Analyzing frequency, length, and ID patterns
• Threshold-based alerting and reducing false positives in real time
• Role of gateway modules as firewalls between vehicle domains
• Implementing stateful inspection for inter-domain message filtering
• Event correlation across multiple vehicle systems for attack reconstruction
• Response strategies: Safe mode activation, communication shutdown
• Using eCall systems to report cyber incidents to server infrastructure
• Logging mechanisms with tamper-resistant storage for forensic analysis

Module 8: Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessment

• Methodology for automotive penetration testing: Phases and deliverables
• Gathering intelligence: Public documentation, ECU datasheets, teardowns
• Physical access attacks: Bench testing ECUs with logic analyzers
• Using CAN analyzers and reverse-engineering message IDs
• Tools for fuzzing: CAN frame fuzzing at different protocol layers
• Exploiting misconfigured diagnostics: UDS and OBD-II access control
• Identifying default credentials in telematics and infotainment systems
• Exploiting unsecured firmware update mechanisms
• Validating cryptographic implementation flaws: Weak RNGs, hardcoded keys
• Reporting templates: CVSS scoring, severity classification, remediation steps

Module 9: Over-the-Air (OTA) Update Security and Integrity

• Architecture of secure OTA systems: Client, server, and distribution models
• Secure update workflow: Download, verify, install, commit, rollback
• Implementing delta updates with cryptographic verification
• Code signing using RSA and ECC for firmware packages
• Replay protection using sequence numbers and monotonic counters
• Rollback attacks and how to prevent them with version enforcement
• Secure storage during OTA: Ensuring atomic updates
• Impact of partial or failed updates on vehicle safety and security
• Audit logging of OTA operations across multiple ECUs
• Testing OTA resilience under poor connectivity scenarios

Module 10: Supply Chain and Third-Party Component Risks

• Threats from third-party software and open-source dependencies
• Creating and managing a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
• Using SPDX and CycloneDX formats for automotive SBOMs
• Static and dynamic analysis of third-party SDKs and libraries
• Monitoring for zero-day vulnerabilities in supplier code
• Secure integration of infotainment apps from external vendors
• Vetting supplier cybersecurity practices and contractual obligations
• Risk assessment of purchasing components from secondary vendors
• Hardware Trojans in integrated circuits and detection strategies
• Secure firmware flashing processes across contract manufacturing sites

Module 11: Functional Safety and Security Interaction

• Differences between functional safety (ISO 26262) and cybersecurity (ISO 21434)
• Interactions between ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level) and threat severity
• Security attacks that can compromise functional safety mechanisms
• Ensuring fail-safe and fail-secure states under cyberattack conditions
• Safety mechanisms exploited as attack vectors: Watchdog timers, resets
• Securing fault detection and reporting systems from tampering
• Role of redundancy in increasing both safety and attack resilience
• Joint analysis: FMEA with cybersecurity threats (FMECA)
• Designing safe fallback modes during active intrusion scenarios
• Integrating cybersecurity into safety case arguments

Module 12: Secure Development Lifecycle and SDLC Integration

• Integrating security into every phase of the automotive SDLC
• Security requirements definition: From threat models and compliance
• Architecture reviews with security checklists and design patterns
• Threat modeling using Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool or IriusRisk
• Secure coding practices for C, C++, and Rust in automotive contexts
• Static Application Security Testing (SAST) for embedded firmware
• Dynamic testing during simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL)
• Penetration testing integration points in development sprints
• Security gate reviews at phase transitions in project timelines
• Documenting security decisions in threat model repositories

Module 13: Incident Response and Forensic Readiness

• Creating a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan (CIRP) for automotive
• Roles and responsibilities during a vehicle cybersecurity incident
• Communication protocols with regulators, insurers, and customers
• Forensic data collection: Logs, memory dumps, network captures
• Chain of custody procedures for automotive forensic evidence
• Recovering intrusion timelines from distributed ECU logs
• Digital forensics on ECUs using JTAG and chip-off techniques
• Secure storage and encryption of forensic artifacts
• Engaging third-party incident responders and legal counsel
• Post-incident review and updating threat models

Module 14: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Automotive Security

• Risks of AI models in ADAS and autonomous driving systems
• Adversarial machine learning: Evasion and poisoning attacks
• Protecting perception models from spoofed sensor inputs
• Anomaly detection using unsupervised learning on CAN traffic
• Training datasets: Ensuring integrity and defending against data tampering
• Explainability and model transparency in safety-critical decisions
• Monitoring model drift in production ADAS deployments
• Securing model update mechanisms and cloud pipelines
• Ensuring robustness of sensor fusion algorithms under attack
• Defending camera-based systems against adversarial stickers and light patterns

Module 15: Case Studies and Real-World Attack Simulations

• Full technical breakdown of the Tesla Model S Pwn2Own 2016 attack
• Remote exploitation via infotainment system and CAN injection
• Analysis of the 2020 GM OnStar fob relay attack
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) vulnerabilities and key swapping fixes
• Exploiting flawed mobile app authentication: A 20k-vehicle fleet case
• Breakdown of IIoT supply chain compromise in industrial fleets
• Detailed analysis of ransomware affecting commercial vehicle telematics
• Simulation of a coordinated fleet-wide Denial of Service attack
• Recreating a fake GPS spoofing attack on location-based services
• Step-by-step recreation of a firmware downgrade attack on a test ECU

Module 16: Certification, Audit, and Professional Development

• Preparing for third-party cybersecurity audits and penetration testing reviews
• Gathering evidence for ISO/SAE 21434 compliance assessments
• Conducting internal audits using checklists and scorecards
• Documentation standards for cybersecurity case files and audit trails
• Interfacing with auditors and responding to findings
• Negotiating audit scope and securing third-party testing vendors
• Building a personal portfolio of security architecture projects
• Adding the Certificate of Completion to LinkedIn and resumes
• Connecting with automotive cybersecurity communities and forums
• Next career steps: From engineer to cybersecurity lead, auditor, or consultant