Technology company Continental has received the Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange (TISAX) certification for ensuring safety and security in manufacturing and R&D processes. The certification, which was developed under the umbrella of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), is already being used as a standard for auditing by 2,500 companies across 40 countries. In India, Continental is one of the early adopters who have received the certification, at its Bengaluru plant and R&D Centre with the Manesar and Gurgaon units in line to be certified later this year.
Advancement in connected technologies at manufacturing plants and R&D centres has also led to cyber risks and vulnerabilities. Earlier, the automotive industry implemented safety engineering to protect the environment from malfunctions of the vehicular systems. However, today, the systems also need protection from malicious elements in the environment.
Continental, being a leader in innovation and mobility technology, fulfils a very high level of information security according to ISO 27001: 2013. Taking a step further, Continental India has achieved the TISAX certification that ensures the same security standards across all locations. TISAX practices will be implemented on every new order as a prerequisite at Continental India’s plants and R&D processes.
Manoj Nair, Head of IT, Continental Automotive India, said, “Nearly any process in manufacturing can be subject to a breach in security, especially considering the level of connectivity in modern manufacturing settings. As a result, manufacturers must “think outside the box” to assess and identify cybersecurity threats. At Continental, we have been taking various measures to ensure secure processes and products, and the TISAX certification is a demonstration of our commitment to product security.”
Continental, with the framework Prevent, Understand, Respond, is strengthening all possible points of attack and implements cybersecurity solutions on multiple levels and different layers. On the first level, the individual electronic system components are protected; the second level ensures communications between the in-vehicle systems are protected; at the next level, all the vehicle’s external interfaces are protected; and in the final level, data processing outside the vehicle is protected against theft and manipulation. This level also includes cloud and backend solutions.
The company’s cybersecurity expertise has been significantly augmented with the multiple end-to-end solutions provided by Argus Cyber Security, the automotive cybersecurity specialist company, which has been recently acquired by Continental.