Building Security into Every Vehicle

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month and all year-round

By Rivian

October 3^rd, 2024

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but security is fundamental to our work at Rivian every day.

Last weekend at our software lab in Palo Alto, we hosted a security hackathon that brought together researchers from around the globe to test the security of our vehicles, for the ultimate good of our customers. The group represented some of the most skilled researchers in the field, and a few return guests. Rivian was proud to be a sponsor of DEFCON’s car hacking village this year, where we hosted a “capture the flag” competition, and the winners joined in on this event.

Just as feedback from the Rivian community is essential in helping us build a better car, feedback from the cybersecurity research community helps us deliver on our mission to build vehicles that inspire confidence and keep our customers safe, wherever their adventures take them. That’s why we collaborate with researchers at hackathons like this, industry events, and even through a vulnerability reporting program (more on that below).

“Connected vehicles have opened this new realm that's interesting to people who have a security background that's more about computers and general technology. It truly is now like there's an ethernet network in a Rivian vehicle. And this hackathon feels like Rivian has brought automotive onto the turf of the classical computer security nerds.”

Ryan Huber Researcher and Engineer, Rivian Hackathon Attendee

The majority of our vehicle software is built in-house by our engineering teams

Before you buy a car, it’s common to make sure it meets safety standards, so you know it’s manufactured to protect you and everyone who rides in it. It’s less common to wonder whether the car’s software is built securely to protect you and your data. At Rivian, we believe both are important as connected cars are now the norm.

With most of our software developed in-house by our engineering teams, we have more control over the strength of the systems that protect our customers and the communities where the vehicles operate, whether you’re riding with your windows down on an open highway or making a service appointment. And since most of our software is vertically integrated across our vehicles, app and services, we can work quickly on bug fixes and patches to continually make it more robust.

Rivian vehicles receive regular over-the-air updates — so your car gets better, right from your driveway

The security landscape is ever-changing. With a phone, the way to keep your device secure is to update it regularly to keep up with evolving threats. We think about our vehicles the same way. Because we have more control over the software running on a Rivian, we move fast and are constantly enhancing our vehicles. They receive regular over-the-air updates, which can include everything from brand new features like Snow Mode and Charging Scores to important security enhancements. This means your car gains new functionality over time and gets more secure as the goal posts in the industry move.

Gear Guard helps you keep an eye on your vehicle and belongings when you’re away

Rivian’s security system protects your vehicle and gear using embedded, high-resolution cameras that are integrated with the Rivian app and physical tethers for gear like kayaks and skis. Gear Guard Live Cam, a newly launched Connect+ feature, allows you to check in on your vehicle with a 360-degree view right from your phone, and video is end-to-end encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.

We collaborate openly with the cybersecurity research community

In addition to testing our software with our engineering teams and external researchers, Rivian has a vulnerability reporting program, where cybersecurity researchers and engineers in the field can report any issues they notice across our app, products and platform, and we’ll work with them on fixing it swiftly. If you’d like to learn more about that program, visit this site.

“It's been a good day. My takeaway is that the Rivian team is here to work with the community and figure out how they can improve security. They have a very good grasp on the technical side of things, so it's a great combination of welcoming in people who want to help and being collaborative.”