Automotive Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Securing CAN

Automotive Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Securing CAN Networks

Modern vehicles are no longer just mechanical machines. They are software-defined, networked systems that rely heavily on in-vehicle communication networks to operate safely and efficiently. With this transformation comes a growing cybersecurity risk, especially on in-vehicle networks such as the Controller Area Network (CAN), which was originally designed without security in mind.

This course provides a clear, practical, and industry-aligned introduction to Automotive Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), with a strong focus on CAN-based vehicle architectures. It explains not only how attacks occur, but also how real automotive systems detect malicious behavior while respecting strict safety and real-time constraints.

Unlike many academic or tool-focused courses, this course teaches how automotive security engineers actually think and work. You will not just learn what an IDS is. You will understand why detection is preferred over prevention in vehicles, how attacks manifest in CAN traffic, and how IDS solutions are realistically designed, evaluated, and deployed in production environments.

In this course, you will learn how modern vehicles evolved into networked systems, how CAN communication works and why it is vulnerable, and how common CAN attacks such as message injection and denial of service affect vehicle behavior. You will also explore IDS concepts, deployment models, detection techniques, and real-world case studies that demonstrate how CAN-based IDS works in practice.

This course is concept-driven, safety-aware, and vendor-neutral, making it ideal for learners who want long-term, transferable automotive cybersecurity knowledge applicable to real engineering roles.